issue with very tall tress on council land

Giraffe76

Hi all,

Not sure if this post is in the correct place so please move it if not.

My dad and his neigbours either side have 3 or 4 trees that are about 50 feet in height each and are right next to their properties fences. They are on council land but the council dont want to do anything about even triming the trees to a more managable height.

My dad has lived at his current address roughly 30 years and says that the council have hardly bothered with these trees even although his disputes this as they say they have been out to them. He has contacted the council 3 times in the last 10 years and has recieved a letter each time saying that they wont do anything. There has been times when theres been high winds that effects these trees to the extent that they sway quite badly. Him and his neighbours are all concerned the trees will blow over and damage their properties which my dad has said at this point he would be looking to take the council to court.

What if anything can people suggest please

Kind regards

ArbitraryRandom

I would say taking a local council to court is an incredibly bad idea 99% of the time - no only will it be a very long process that you are unlikely to win, it will be extremely expensive (it's taxpayer's money - there's plenty of examples where councils are not reluctant to spend it defending cases that people paying out of pocket would settle quickly) and you are at risk of having costs awarded against you...

Plus there's a lot of hoops you need to jump through before you're ready to even consider court action (starting with having a survey/expert report to establish if the trees are actually a credible risk to the properties in the area and paying a lawyer to draft a letter setting out the councils legal duties in this case)

I suggest letter to your local MP or Mayor (if you have one) would be a sensible (free) first step. Ideally signed by all the relevant householders. 

Farway

Do you know what these trees are? Oak, Ash, Sycamore etc?

Some types are shallow rooted and more liable to falling over

tacpot12

You dad has put the council on notice that he thinks the trees are dangerous, but it's clear that he isn't an expert. If the trees do blow over, the council might have a harder time defending a claim. However, if he told them they were dangerous 10 years ago and they are still standing, this rather supports their view that he is just being awkward. 

Trees grow tall. It's what they do. 

Brie

Has he checked if there is a protection order on the trees?  If there is he might as well learn to live with them.  

And you might point out that the trees  are likely giving him and his neighbours some much needed protection from  the hot summer sun

35har1old

Giraffe76 said:

Hi all,

Not sure if this post is in the correct place so please move it if not.

My dad and his neigbours either side have 3 or 4 trees that are about 50 feet in height each and are right next to their properties fences. They are on council land but the council dont want to do anything about even triming the trees to a more managable height.

My dad has lived at his current address roughly 30 years and says that the council have hardly bothered with these trees even although his disputes this as they say they have been out to them. He has contacted the council 3 times in the last 10 years and has recieved a letter each time saying that they wont do anything. There has been times when theres been high winds that effects these trees to the extent that they sway quite badly. Him and his neighbours are all concerned the trees will blow over and damage their properties which my dad has said at this point he would be looking to take the council to court.

What if anything can people suggest please

Kind regards

Is it affecting the house Insurance

Yorkie1

Perhaps a Freedom of Information Act request to the council, asking for details of their tree inspection policy and the records of the inspections of those trees over the last 10 years (or 5 if you prefer), might at least direct their minds to their responsibiities?

Also do you have a local councillor as well as your MP? Perhaps contact them?

BarelySentientAI

Trees are supposed to sway in high winds, that's no evidence of anything wrong.

user1977

Yorkie1 said:

Also do you have a local councillor as well as your MP? Perhaps contact them?

Everyone has councillors. No idea why people go straight to MPs when they have problems with the council!

DullGreyGuy

You'd need to get an expert out to inspect the trees. If the deemed they were in poor health and there is no preservation order on them then you can possibly force the council to do something. 

Naturally you may pay the expert to come out and they say the trees are very healthy and as such you have to pay the expert and have no prospects of making any form of claim against the council. 

Trees are designed to sway in the wind, thats how they avoid falling over or snapping most the time 

Bookworm105

i would say in these environmentally friendly times you should be grateful to have mature trees to enjoy.
hypothetic fear about them blowing over is just clutching at straws. The council will take action if/when they become dangerous, not before, it's why they employ suitably qualified contractors to inspect them.