Neighbours and tree

Redwino222

I moved house last year and have a lovely mature garden.

a neighbour has just called at the door to complain about my tree which he says is casting a shadow on his patio.  I have never met him before and was just out of the shower so didn’t really stand and chat the way I normally would.

I said I would get a tree surgeon out to see about reducing the crown.  I am a bit worried about the cost of that - but think it’s worth it for neighbourly harmony.

after he left it struck me he didn’t seem particularly thankful or overly pleasant about it.  Now I wonder did he expect me to cut down the tree.

he approached it almost like I was playing loud music or something - the tree was there obviously when I bought the house so not really sure why he was annoyed at me?  And I said I would do something about it.  Now not sure if I misread the situation 

Browntoa

Maybe the previous owner had refused to do anything

You've offered to do something about it , forget about anything else and move on 

Redwino222

Thank you.

it is a really beautiful mature tree and it will cost a fortune to even get the crown reduced.  I would be doing to just for him and he didn’t say thank you or offer to contribute to the cost!!

I won’t be cutting it down so maybe that’s why he wasn’t overly thankful!

it will also probably be autumn before they will do the work - from why I have read they need to wait until the tree is dormant.

Bendy_House

Your call, Redwino.

If the neighb is truly expectant and ungrateful, then you know he ain't ever going to be your drinking buddy, because they have misjudged the situation. Yes, you'll always be 'neighbourly' - take in their parcels, keep an eye on their house when they are away, lend them a foot pump, but now't more - they won't be coming to your barbie.

So, you can get a quote for having this done and foot the bill. And repeat this in 5 years time.

Or, you can tell them 'tough - I wasn't impressed by your entitled approach, so I won't be doing anything about it until I want to...'

Or, happy to discuss how much it can be trimmed down, and then I'll give you permission for you to do so.

Bottom line, this sort of thing can be annoying and unneighbourly - having your patio cast in shade by someone else's tree - but folk should learn how to make a proper approach about trying to sort it. That would include being reasonable, friendly, polite, showing gratitude, and being ready to share the cost. After all, you'd otherwise be paying out to do something for their benefit.

Sod that when they ain't even grateful.

theoretica

Personally, I would check on the house sales - if you don't know - to see when he moved in (and/or when the patio was built)- and estimate how big the tree was then!  Does the tree overhang the boundary at all?

TELLIT01

Is the tree entirely on the OP's property or do any of the branches overhang the neighbour's garden.  If the former the neighbour can't physically do anything about it.  If the latter the neighbour could cut the branches back to the boundary.

As has been implied above, cutting a tree back is only a temporary solution as it will grow back.  I had a badly overgrown crab apple cut hard back about a month ago and it has new shoots on it already which are a few inches long.  That job was pretty brutal, leaving just bare stems and cost nearly £300 for about half a days work.  I was also quoted £500 + vat by another tree surgeon without him even seeing the job.

Norman_Castle

What type of tree is it? Some can grow very large very quickly. How close is it to the house to overshadow the patio.

Redwino222

The tree is an ash tree.

it doesn’t overhang his property at all - he is not next door but one house down. 

my tree is quite tall - but there are lots of trees at the bottom of the gardens along the street.  And some ever greens in other peoples gardens which are monsters. 

I am not sure if he had approached the last owner - he seemed quite worked up, so maybe.  

It did annoy me that he didn’t acknowledge he was asking me to spend a lot of money so he can sunbathe!  But I suppose from his perspective my tree is impacting his enjoyment of his garden. 

 

DairyQueen

Our tree surgeon discusses two ways of maintaining trees: a) leave them alone.... b) crown them and ruin their shape.

Unsurprisingly, he thinks that b) is ill-advised.

If you are happy with the tree then leave it. Your entitled neighbour needs to put-up or move.

JohnB47

Redwino222 said:

The tree is an ash tree.

it doesn’t overhang his property at all - he is not next door but one house down. 

my tree is quite tall - but there are lots of trees at the bottom of the gardens along the street.  And some ever greens in other peoples gardens which are monsters. 

I am not sure if he had approached the last owner - he seemed quite worked up, so maybe.  

It did annoy me that he didn’t acknowledge he was asking me to spend a lot of money so he can sunbathe!  But I suppose from his perspective my tree is impacting his enjoyment of his garden. 

 

Oh for goodness sake, is this for real? Someone two doors away expects you to cut bits off your tree? If it was next door, maybe you'd consider doing something about it but two doors down? Ignore, I say. They're just having a go at a new neighbour, thinking they have a new person to bully.

Edit: Perhaps make friends with other neighbours, as you would do normally, and maybe you'll learn something about this particular neighbour. 

Redwino222

In fairness there are large evergreens a couple of houses down from my house which cast a shadow into my garden.  I am not a sun worshiper so it doesn’t really bother me!

I am going to look out the upstairs window tomorrow to see how much of a shadow it casts.