every1sgottablue1

My neighbour has a conifer that has a root about 4 foot from the end of my drive. It has got so big that it now protrudes over my drive. I also think it is lifting the concrete as well!
But my biggest issue is that it dumps sap all over my scooby! Every day!
Any one know the laws?
She is an elderly lady living on her own. I have tried to speak to her but she just blanks me (and everyone else in the street)

What do you chaps think?

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

How tall is it?

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

Chop everything off that overhangs on your drive and dump it in her garden so you are not stealing
Bit of a worry that your drive will be cracking soon though as conifers will grow higher then your house

How high is it now ?

jonc

Copper nails or ring barking should do it.

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Is it council property? you could complain to them a tree on their land is doing damage to your drive.

5t.

EddScott

I'd like to know what the limit is for conifers. Our neighbours have them in their garden and we would like to know how they can get before you can ask for them to be trimmed.

The house is rented and the previous tenants put them in. Need to get hold of the landlord.

jbl

Your local council should have a person who has a designated role to deal with conifer/hedge problems, might be worth a 'phone call for advice.

JBL

CEL

iTrader: (1)

People who plant these things should realise what they are letting themselves in for. You can't just plant them and walk away, they need keeping under control.

I live in a terraced house and the garden is not all that big at the back and is surrounded by these bloody things. When we moved in we spoke to the neighbours at the bottom of the garden as they had what must have been a 50 footer invading ours and next doors gardens. He said if I chop it down he would get rid of it. 2 days later it was laying in his garden in pieces.

That solved one problem, now across our next door neighbours lives a hillbilly who obviously has no idea how annoying his ever expanding conifers are becoming. They were severely 'trimmed' a few years ago by me and my neighbour, but they are growing back even bigger now. They are close to blocking out my afternoon sun. If he does nothing about it soon, he will be waking up to conifers laying horizontally across that wasteland he calls a garden.

As posted by a few others, if she won't talk to you, copper nails, bore a decent size hole in the trunk and fill with bleach or just simply chop the ****** down during the night

^Qwerty^

Put some salt down just before it rains.

speedking

Ensure there isn't a TPO before undertaking any guerilla action!

Remember this!

Miniman

iTrader: (2)

Had a similar problem and as it happens they trees were owned by the council.

I don't believe there is any legal requirement to cut them back. Though there is some legislation on right to light and size of hedges (more than 3 conifers consititues a hedge).

There's some more detail here
http://www.trees.org.uk/faqs/Overview_6

The trees I had a problem with were small when we moved in but last winter we started to notice they were blocking a lot of the early morning light. I was willing to prune them (we didn't want them cut down) at my expense. But as we didn't own them I wanted the owners permission.

All I could get hold of was the council call centre the first few times who repeated the same old message - there was no obligation for the council to prune them and they had no fixed schedule for pruning them and there was no other legal obligation for them to do anything.

The council (Surrey CC) promotes engaging with your neighbours over disputes, but I couldn't even get my neighbours (the council themselves) to speak to me on an intelligent non call centre level. Like I say, I was willing to pay for it, just didn't want any comeback that I had pruned someone else trees without permission.

Had to contact my councillor in the end just to get the Highways department involved. Once engaged they were helpful, but like all modern call centres - it's finding a way to get past the numpty when their scripted answers doesn't provide the question or answer needed.

SamUK

iTrader: (1)

Maybe she is half def?

Have you tried knocking on the door?

Will

What good will that do if.....

mattstant

Rare to have TPO's an conifers

simonsaunders

These trees are never popular!

You can trim the parts on your property, just offer the clippings back.

Read up techniques and do a nice job.

Where neighbours are concerned, particularly older ones, you'll be surprised at how many are petrified of cost. If you speak to them and explain that you'll sort it all financially / put in all the effort then many will be more than happy for you to just go ahead.

I'm always wary of speaking to insurers, because they use everything to shaft you, but if something threatens the property they are quite often proactive in sorting it out.

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

See what I did?

Kev_turbo

It is possible for a conifer to have a TPO on it, if so it is against planning law to even trim your side without express permission in writing from your local council. The same applies if you live in a conservation area however this isn't policed quite as much as TPO's.

There is no given figure for a legal height limit for a conifer however if it is blocking your sight line for pulling off your drive onto the road you have some legal redress and the council can force the owner to have the tree removed or significantly reduced.

You have 2 options, gain permission from the tree owner to have the tree worked on or go via the council with a reason that is either proof the tree is causing damage to your property, proof the tree is causing a risk to your daily life (sight line for driving for example) and proof that you have tried to speak to the home owner (this is important). They then might intervene.

You have no legal right to light where conifers are concerned, it doesn't wash with the council.

Good luck, you will need it unless you can get the tree owner to agree to work

Kev
Tree surgeon for the past 8 years

LostUser

My Mum lodged a high hedge complaint with the council about her neighbours conifers claiming that, at 7-8 metres, they were blocking light in to the back garden. 6 months later, after many letters etc, she won and the neighbour was forced to cut them down to 3 metres and to maintain this height from now on.

She did have to pay the council £650 and prove that she had tried communicating with the neighbour first.

At one point we did cut back everything that was overhanging my Mum's property line and dumped the cuttings back over the fence, which I understand is the only legal way to do it.

Kev_turbo

You have to offer it back not give it back, the tree owner doesn't have to dispose of the waste. This rule goes back many years and is based on the ownership of fruit and firewood, i.e. things of value/use

SJ_Skyline

Contact your household insurance company and advise them that you believe your neighbours tree may be about to do damage to your property that would result in a claim. they'll be onto it, her and and her insurance like a shot.

every1sgottablue1

We are buying our property so would probably incur the cost. It does block my view onto the road, and I have almost had a incident pulling of the drive.
The conifer is about 25 feet. I'm more concerned about all the sap on my car. TBH it is really getting on my ****!
She is not death just rude. She even blanks my 14 and 11 year old daughters when they say hello. I may lose my rag soon!

View the pics:

47 NAT

I hate these trees with a passion. When I first moved into my last place there were 18 of these approx 35ft tall in the front garden and 34 of them at similiar height in the back. They had never been looked after properly and bearing in mind the garden was 11 metres wide, the branches almost touched in the middle of the garden. The previous owner planted them thinking they grew to 10ft and as they liked their privacy from either neighbour and thought it was the perfect solution. The neighbours had moaned about them for years and couldn't do diddly squat about them ....

I cut the front ones down straight away and built a nice big driveway The neighbours either side had a party to celebrate as they could now see the sun in the morning and it brightened up the inside of there houses - when I done the back some months later, they wanted me to replace both fences as well. I should of left them up there

Looking at the pictures of your neighbours, it appears that it does restrict your view on getting out on to the road safely. These type of trees need the owners to accept maintenance of them or to cut the awful things down. Either way good luck and I hope you get it sorted out.

every1sgottablue1

Thanks Nat. Have just emailed the council to see if I have a case. Will keep the post updated with any outcomes.

Lee.