Neighbour's nightmare tree

twopenny

Reading this the neighbours love their tree more than they love you and your quality of life.
A good tree surgeon should be able to make the tree still beautiful while giving you light and sun.

Ab's approach is very good as a starting point then you will see just what the cut of the jib you're neighbours really have. 
Two things, I was (and still am annoyed by my neighbour from a fencing incident) when I moved but she is now lovely and we get on well (still hope for an apology  ) and perhaps long shot - they waited for you to be out not to disturb you.... but leaving the remains, sheesh that's making an unpleasant point! You were very good not to return the debris over the fence as is your right.

But it's all about being reasonable when confronted by idiots. So be as reasonable as you can but fight your corner. You have the house you want, you need the right to light and a garden as sunny as theirs.

silver17

Sorry for the delayed reply on here! Trying to respond to everyone today........

Dustyevsky said:

silver17 said:

I did suggest this actually but "we really love our tree" and I backed off. They are the kind of people who have lived on the street the longest so they feel what they say goes.

What they say does 'go,' regardless of the time any of you have lived there. You have been resident only for a few years, so you bought in the knowledge that the tree could cast shadow and that it would not get smaller. Like the person who buys a house next to a pub, or a neighbour with several partially 'restored' cars on their drive, it is too late after exchanging contracts to look beyond the boundaries and want to exert influence there!

If you are charming and they are reasonable folk, you may persuade the neighbours to see things your way, but it's not guaranteed. The line of Leylandii that caused my wife and I to move when they were planted in 1987 is still there, and our lovely little town garden is still in shade nearly 40 years on. C'est la vie. There were other houses.

One question nobody's asked so far, apart from what it is, is whether the tree is protected by a TPO.

Well, no it doesn't go actually... You are legally entitled to trim overhanging branches - they do not even want me doing this. It is not a protected tree, they just like it a lot. Also, as mentioned in my original post, I believed it was still in full summer bloom (at its largest) when I viewed - I later found out it was not and it gets 'fluffier' - the summer months are horrible. I am not asking them to cut down their tree or have influence on what is on their side, I'm not sure where you got that from, I simply want to cut back what I am legally entitled to cut and asked advice on how to talk to them! You're lucky there were other house in 1987... Not quite so simple in 2023 though haha

-taff said:

If only there was a checklist of the kind of things you should think about beyond, does the house have a roof, does the boiler work, when you buy a house so other people can help someone consider all the angles they shoud think about.

This!! I've totally gathered a bigger checklist each time I've moved previously. I even flush toilets! Trees were on my list, if you can believe it... (PS I love your quote in your signature!!)

[Deleted User] said:

Useful link from previous poster! You haven't said what type of tree it is? is it deciduous or evergreen? For eg we have  what is some type of Chamaecyparis in the garden planted years before we moved in, it has multiple trunks, and has spread inwards, it is very wide and no amount of pruning seems to stop it, it just comes up from another point so it may be an all or nothing route for the owners and pruning it on your side may just encourage more growth.  Ask nicely, disputes with neighbours can be infinitely worse than the initial problem. 

I was told what it was but can't remember right now. It has 8 trunks spreading from the one though!!! I guarantee within 20 years, that tree will be in my garden. I'm happy to pay a pro to trim my side to keep it healthy and aesthetically pleasing and to keep on top of the re-growth. It's otherwise a nice looking tree and is frequented/resided in by a lot of cute birdies (and rowdy magpies) so I'm not going to be the person that ruins wildlife habitat by asking for it to be torn down! Heck, even if the tree surgeon finds a nest in a bit I want taken off from my side, I'd ask him to leave it there

silver17

ArbitraryRandom said:

I agree the issue mainly seems to be the OP not wanting to 'upset' anyone - and the only way to do that would be to do nothing I fear - but it's important to remember the OP doesn't need the neighbour's permission to remove overhanging branches (as far as I can see the access issues were with the neighbour coming into the OP's garden to 'trim' without permission - not the other way around, so cherry picker probably not required). 

Speculating, but removing any such branches would probably make the tree look lopsided so the neighbours could well deal with any other problematic branches in trying to balance it back out  

Obviously, also agreeing some more detail/pictures from the OP would be very helpful... 

That is the main issue! Although by doing nothing does upset someone.... me! I just want to come to an amicable and mutually agreeable solution.

Re them coming in - I had mentioned branches, they came in without warning me. It's not the first time they've done this, they removed something from my front yard / land without my permission when I was out as well as entering to paint their shed from my side... I find this creepy. Just tell me 'I'll pop by on day x for xyz' and we'd have no problem.

Re details - I'd say it's about 50ft wide. I mentioned to someone else it also has 8 trunks coming from one main one, but some of those 8 have split - technically there's 14!!! It's at least 45 years old.

twopenny said:

Reading this the neighbours love their tree more than they love you and your quality of life.
A good tree surgeon should be able to make the tree still beautiful while giving you light and sun.

Ab's approach is very good as a starting point then you will see just what the cut of the jib you're neighbours really have. 
Two things, I was (and still am annoyed by my neighbour from a fencing incident) when I moved but she is now lovely and we get on well (still hope for an apology  ) and perhaps long shot - they waited for you to be out not to disturb you.... but leaving the remains, sheesh that's making an unpleasant point! You were very good not to return the debris over the fence as is your right.

But it's all about being reasonable when confronted by idiots. So be as reasonable as you can but fight your corner. You have the house you want, you need the right to light and a garden as sunny as theirs.

Oh wow that first line hits the nail directly on the head so hard that the nail was smushed!

I understand waiting for me to be out may have seemed polite - but they could have said "we'll come in while you're out", doing that was a minor thing that would have made a massive difference. I was doing the garden with my friend that day and we popped out briefly after finishing up (20 mins max) to get BBQ stuff, came back and he'd come in and left the remains... I was tempted to return it! It's not the first time they've entered my property unannounced - two days prior to us doing the garden, he entered my front yard and hacked some stuff that wasn't even over the wall height... including some gorgeous poppies I loved. WHY!

I'm trying to find a tree surgeon who I feel I can trust, I can't hire just any dude with a chainsaw (some of them have come across like this esp wiv da txtspk dey b usin! Nope. Just nope.) I'm honestly at this point tempted to ask the neighbours to come into my home and see exactly what the tree is doing from my perspective as a way to get them to back down a little.....

Dustyevsky

silver17 said:

Sorry for the delayed reply on here! Trying to respond to everyone today........

Dustyevsky said:

silver17 said:

I did suggest this actually but "we really love our tree" and I backed off. They are the kind of people who have lived on the street the longest so they feel what they say goes.

What they say does 'go,' regardless of the time any of you have lived there. You have been resident only for a few years, so you bought in the knowledge that the tree could cast shadow and that it would not get smaller. Like the person who buys a house next to a pub, or a neighbour with several partially 'restored' cars on their drive, it is too late after exchanging contracts to look beyond the boundaries and want to exert influence there!

If you are charming and they are reasonable folk, you may persuade the neighbours to see things your way, but it's not guaranteed. The line of Leylandii that caused my wife and I to move when they were planted in 1987 is still there, and our lovely little town garden is still in shade nearly 40 years on. C'est la vie. There were other houses.

One question nobody's asked so far, apart from what it is, is whether the tree is protected by a TPO.

Well, no it doesn't go actually... You are legally entitled to trim overhanging branches - they do not even want me doing this. It is not a protected tree, they just like it a lot. Also, as mentioned in my original post, I believed it was still in full summer bloom (at its largest) when I viewed - I later found out it was not and it gets 'fluffier' - the summer months are horrible. I am not asking them to cut down their tree or have influence on what is on their side, I'm not sure where you got that from, I simply want to cut back what I am legally entitled to cut and asked advice on how to talk to them! You're lucky there were other house in 1987... Not quite so simple in 2023 though haha

I know you are entitled  to trim back to the boundary; I said that in my second post, but the neighbours hold the ace card regarding access for a tree surgeon, which is why I suggested a cherry picker might eventually be the best solution.

I also didn't propose you have the tree cut on the neighbour's side. "Looking beyond the boundary" was a (tactful?) suggestion that you didn't do due diligence when viewing, by looking out for possible problems in the close vicinity, like the tree. I used the examples of buying close to a pub, or next to a car restoration enthusiast. The latter  was something which put people off viewing our last house. Like the leylandii which made us move, the restoration guy turned up after we'd bought, so even diligence doesn't protect people long term from the whims and desires of others. Stuff happens.

Even now, despite the vast resources of the internet, you still haven't identified this tree, which gets 'fluffier' in the summer. To me, a 50' wide tree is somewhat obvious and didn't get there suddenly regardless of its behaviour patterns, so I feel you bear a measure of responsibility for the situation you describe. It's therefore up to you to do your best to sort it.

As others have suggested, you talk in a friendly manner to your neighbours, invite them into your house, show them the evidence of the restricted light and say firmly you're going to have the tree cut back as far as it's legal to go. They will surely understand now they've seen your situation first hand. It might be better from an aesthetic POV if they allow compensatory trimming, but that's up to them. Whatever happens, you will have your side cut back because the tree's lowering your quality of life and devaluing your property, and that's not right.

Then, get what can be done, done. If it upsets the neighbours, you gave liaison your best shot, so don't feel bad. You'll feel worse if you don't assert the rights you do have.