Advice regarding tree on a shared boundary

Boohoo

Durace11Bunny said:

GDB2222 said:

Maybe, wait until you see the cherry tree in blossom before deciding what to do. They really look gorgeous for two weeks of the year,and you might decide that you can put up with some damage to the outhouse. 

Love the sentiment, but i'm afraid no amount of blossom will mask any damage done to the outbuilding

I'm going to mark (and date) the cracks, so i can track its 'progress'. Hopefully, by which point we will have spoken to the neighbour and agree what's the best course of action

How do you know that the tree belongs to your neighbour?

It may have been planted by the owners of the house that you have bought.

Also are you certain that boundary is in the correct place if they are shown on the deeds?

If you take a photo of the tree and the outbuilding it may help to understand fully what is going on if you put it on this forum.

Durace11Bunny

Exactly - we want to work with the neighbours to resolve this amicably, as we'll be living near them for quite a while

I think keeping a log of actions, contacting the council / citizens advice bureau might be the 1st port of call. I'll also rally around the neighbours, see if they we can band together (as there's about 10m worth of vegetation above 5m along our borders with this property)

FreeBear

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Rdwill said:

Someone will come along with a sensible answer, but my view is that

'It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission'.

I know this was in jest but if you cut down a tree that doesn't belong to you, you may find yourself charged with criminal damage.  

And if there is/was a TPO on the tree, you're in for a lot more trouble and possibly some serious fines.

twopenny

Cherry tree roots tend to be near the surface and root spread isn't as bad as you seem to have read.

But, with them being largely near the surface you could dig the soil half way along that line and sever the roots there. The tree should survive but not grow into your building.

Whichever way there;s every chance that if you cut the tree down as the roots rot and the soil shrinks you could have some ground movement around your building.

It's not so simple that if you cut down a mature tree everything in the ground stays the same.

Are these ladder cracks in rendering, between blocks? Could it be that it's not got sufficient foundations for the weight and it's that along with wet and dry earth movement causing the bricks to pull apart?

I think it needs more investigation while you wait for contact with neighbour to resolve itself. Foundations, soil type, mortar stability and so on.

Durace11Bunny

FreeBear said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Rdwill said:

Someone will come along with a sensible answer, but my view is that

'It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission'.

I know this was in jest but if you cut down a tree that doesn't belong to you, you may find yourself charged with criminal damage.  

And if there is/was a TPO on the tree, you're in for a lot more trouble and possibly some serious fines.

Good shout - we checked the local council TPO map, and thankfully nothing near our property

Durace11Bunny

twopenny said:

Cherry tree roots tend to be near the surface and root spread isn't as bad as you seem to have read.

But, with them being largely near the surface you could dig the soil half way along that line and sever the roots there. The tree should survive but not grow into your building.

Whichever way there;s every chance that if you cut the tree down as the roots rot and the soil shrinks you could have some ground movement around your building.

It's not so simple that if you cut down a mature tree everything in the ground stays the same.

Are these ladder cracks in rendering, between blocks? Could it be that it's not got sufficient foundations for the weight and it's that along with wet and dry earth movement causing the bricks to pull apart?

I think it needs more investigation while you wait for contact with neighbour to resolve itself. Foundations, soil type, mortar stability and so on.

Very good points, and worth bearing in mind -  many thanks for that

From what i can see there's a concrete slab almost 1ft thick, that's been laid above existing foundations - the slab itself hasn't cracked, so it's an encouraging sign (imo). I'm not sure if the cracks are related or not at this point - that'll be for investigation, as you say

Tbf, we're a way from doing anything just yet. Whatever happens, the tree will need a significant prune (at the very least), and we'd still need to ensure the neighbour is onside with us from the start

We'll try several more rounds of trying to contact, log all communications & if all else fails contact the council. It may end up going to mediation if all else fails, i guess

GDB2222

Durace11Bunny said:

twopenny said:

Cherry tree roots tend to be near the surface and root spread isn't as bad as you seem to have read.

But, with them being largely near the surface you could dig the soil half way along that line and sever the roots there. The tree should survive but not grow into your building.

Whichever way there;s every chance that if you cut the tree down as the roots rot and the soil shrinks you could have some ground movement around your building.

It's not so simple that if you cut down a mature tree everything in the ground stays the same.

Are these ladder cracks in rendering, between blocks? Could it be that it's not got sufficient foundations for the weight and it's that along with wet and dry earth movement causing the bricks to pull apart?

I think it needs more investigation while you wait for contact with neighbour to resolve itself. Foundations, soil type, mortar stability and so on.

Very good points, and worth bearing in mind -  many thanks for that

From what i can see there's a concrete slab almost 1ft thick, that's been laid above existing foundations - the slab itself hasn't cracked, so it's an encouraging sign (imo). I'm not sure if the cracks are related or not at this point - that'll be for investigation, as you say

Tbf, we're a way from doing anything just yet. Whatever happens, the tree will need a significant prune (at the very least), and we'd still need to ensure the neighbour is onside with us from the start

We'll try several more rounds of trying to contact, log all communications & if all else fails contact the council. It may end up going to mediation if all else fails, i guess

If the concrete raft on which this outhouse is built is still completely intact, then surely the damage is not subsidence?

Durace11Bunny

GDB2222 said:

Durace11Bunny said:

twopenny said:

Cherry tree roots tend to be near the surface and root spread isn't as bad as you seem to have read.

But, with them being largely near the surface you could dig the soil half way along that line and sever the roots there. The tree should survive but not grow into your building.

Whichever way there;s every chance that if you cut the tree down as the roots rot and the soil shrinks you could have some ground movement around your building.

It's not so simple that if you cut down a mature tree everything in the ground stays the same.

Are these ladder cracks in rendering, between blocks? Could it be that it's not got sufficient foundations for the weight and it's that along with wet and dry earth movement causing the bricks to pull apart?

I think it needs more investigation while you wait for contact with neighbour to resolve itself. Foundations, soil type, mortar stability and so on.

Very good points, and worth bearing in mind -  many thanks for that

From what i can see there's a concrete slab almost 1ft thick, that's been laid above existing foundations - the slab itself hasn't cracked, so it's an encouraging sign (imo). I'm not sure if the cracks are related or not at this point - that'll be for investigation, as you say

Tbf, we're a way from doing anything just yet. Whatever happens, the tree will need a significant prune (at the very least), and we'd still need to ensure the neighbour is onside with us from the start

We'll try several more rounds of trying to contact, log all communications & if all else fails contact the council. It may end up going to mediation if all else fails, i guess

If the concrete raft on which this outhouse is built is still completely intact, then surely the damage is not subsidence?

Quite possibly, but i'm no expert and wouldn't like to hazard a guess

Essentially, we're really just after speaking about the tree (on the boundary line) to our neighbour, with a view to getting it cut back (as per tree surgeons recommendations). The fact there might be some related issues just adds impetus to resolution

We're just wondering what's the ideal solution for speaking with them (in terms of what can or can't be done), and what route to take if they don't engage with us

Durace11Bunny

Slight update, for anyone still reading

I spoke with our neighbour (who also has problems with this persons overgrown vegetation). Like us, they tried to ask about getting things trimmed and were ignored. They also mentioned our old house owner had tried the same in the past & got nowhere

So it seems like several sets of people have previously tried, but to no avail.

We'll continue down trying to ask, but it appears like it might end up needing intervention from another party (eg: council or mediator) if all else fails

GDB2222

Durace11Bunny said:

Slight update, for anyone still reading

I spoke with our neighbour (who also has problems with this persons overgrown vegetation). Like us, they tried to ask about getting things trimmed and were ignored. They also mentioned our old house owner had tried the same in the past & got nowhere

So it seems like several sets of people have previously tried, but to no avail.

We'll continue down trying to ask, but it appears like it might end up needing intervention from another party (eg: council or mediator) if all else fails

The council have some power to help, eg with high h3dges. I’m not sure how much they can do about single trees. There must be lots of cases where one neighbour likes a tree and the other doesn’t. I’m not sure why the council would want to be involved?

One (costly) route is to claim damages if the neighbour's tree is damaging your property. However, it’s not clear whether that is the case.

You may just have to put up with it.