where do I go for help? (Neighbour/Tree dispute)

[lisap]

MY nieghbours keep moaning about our trees. Everyone we speak to say there is no problem with them but I would like a report done to shove where the sun doesn't shine to stop their moaning! One gripe is one conifer that they say blocks their light between 7 and 8 pm in August (yes this is really what they bring up time and time again!) and another is that our silver birch trees are unsafe. These do not border their garden as we have a garden three times as long as theres and so these follow the line of their garden but are about 25 ft away, but it is dangerous for the children playing in their garden as branches blow off it!!!!!!!!!!!!mmmmmm. but she only want the first two cutting down.....see what we are dealing with!!!! i just want to know where to go for help on assessing these matters and having it put in writing. Thans for your time, hope some of you whizz-kids can help
lisax

 

[Richard C]

These guys should be able to advise where you stand;

http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php

 

[oilman]

Don't bother wasting your money. If a branch blew 25 feet, their children would be blown off their feet too. I have a neighbour who has been wittering at me for the last 25 years. He also witters about the leaves on the trees not belonging to me, falling on his ground. The trees must be nearly 100 years old, so he shouldn't have moved into the house.

Birches are a bit of a hazard over 50 years old, but you can trim them (carefully).

Tell them to complain to the council, and remind them that they will then have difficulty selling their house as a search will show a dispute existed.

 

[lisap]

Thanks for that, she also mentioned the leaves blowing into her garden! Having them trimmed is on our list of things to do but we want them done professionally so it is not priority on the list due to money. We have said this to them before but the tree argument is like one of those old chestnuts that gets thrown up if we say anything to them. (we said we could hear them doing DIY at 11pm so she started going on about the trees!!) Their garden is shorter than ours, Our garden is a T shape, the top of the T being the length and the stick of the T goes behind theirs. The trees are along the top end of the T so do not touch any boundary with them! Our other neighbours also have large trees but they said they do not have an issue with these, eventhough they are equally as close. Think this proves its not an issue with the trees its an issue with us! Our other niehbours are also all nature lovers so trees are an important part of our envirnoment...think they may have trouble on their hands if they start asking for them to be removed!

 

[Richard C]

We’ve only got one neighbour & she’s a similar PITA. We had a huge row about 3 months after we moved in over trimming/tidying work I was doing on the boundary & I have completely ignored her for the last 5 years, totally invisible to myself & my wife; strange thing is her hubby is fine. She cant do anything about your leaves blowing in her garden FCS, the height of your trees unless they are diseased & unsafe or the fact they block out her light (although there are recent regulations that control screen planting) The only thing she can legally do is trim any branches that overhang her boundary but she has to offer them back or it’s theft.

 

[lisap]

I was thinking, when the leaves fall in our garden sorting them out and giving her the ones from her tree back to her!! i have been watching the sun today (as it has been out for a bit!) and they have more than us. by six it was shaded, this to me is not a light restriction its just the sun's gone in!! If we lived in a more built up area there would have been even less sun!!I think the council would laugh at her when they came to look at her so called light restriction! I could understand if her garden was encased by 40ft conifers! he is ok ish to talk to...bit more intelligent....but still an arrogant so and so married to a 'wanna be WAG'!
thanks for support!

 

[oilman]

I was thinking, ...............

Stop that. Life's too short. Stop talking to them, if possible stop listening too. Deliberately ignore them except to say "haven't got time to discuss it, please put it in writing". Then you can post on here and we can collectively think of show stopping replies. At least you'll get some fun out of it, and all you will have had to do is to type in their letter, and then print the reply.

 

[lisap]

I know, thinking is really dangerous!! I am going to ignore them from now, I love writng letters and have never lost with one of my letters, even when taking on big companies.
Thanks for your support I'm feeling much better now! I will you posted

 

[mattylad]

If you do get further problems & try going to gardenlaw (advised) then go armed with a sketch of the layout & pics.

But yes, ignore the silly sods.

 

[lisap]

View media item 13073The lack of sun issue!! my garden is on the left

 

[oilman]

I would like to see more weedy things in your lawn, like clover and those purple flowers (can't remember what they are) and leave it longer in the summer, but that's just personal preference.

If their garden is on the right, the light problem is much more from their hedge, but if what looks like a cherry tree is in your garden and overhangs theirs, then they could cut the branches off and hand them back to you. If it's in their garden, they're stuffed, and if they're not. they should be.

 

[JohnD]

those big trees at the end are going to cast quite a shadow. Which way is South?

 

[lisap]

Their garden is on the right and stops at the hedge at the bottom of their garden. The trees are about 25 ft from the boundary to theirs. The cherry blossom tree is theres. It seems ok for their trees to cast a shadow. the trees are next to land belonging to our other nieghbours (its complicated!!) and they don't have an issue with them...one has actually said don't cut them down!! They had sun from 6 (maybe earlier but this is when I got up!) in the morning till at least 7 ( it might have even been 9) at night when it went behind some houses!! So i don't think they can say the trees deprive light. The sun starts at the front of the house ( maybe I need to knock my house down!!)and moves round to the left and then across the back. The thing is all our nieghbours to the left have big trees but they have no issue with these.

 

[lisap]

I would like to see more weedy things in your lawn, like clover and those purple flowers (can't remember what they are) and leave it longer in the summer, but that's just personal preference.

I will try harder!!

I have a 6 month old baby now so there will probably be more weeds as I have less time!!

 

[mattylad]

Ignore her, they have nothing to complain about.

There is nothing they can do about it, leaves fall & no one can get anything done about them. You just sweep them up occasionally.
They have a tree & should know this.

As for the light, it is not causing a substantial enough reduction in light for anything to be done about it.

Do not cut them down in any way for these people, you trees look wonderful and I bet they are home to a great many differing forms of wildlife. (have you seen any bats go into them? )

gardenlaw.co.uk is a good site where you can get some advice from people who hear these issues daily.