Hi all,

A question.

Immediately behind our house is a tree in somene else's garden. Our house is about 10 metres from a retaining wall, and the tree, probably 4 or 5 times the height of the houses, is a few metres on the other side of the wall.

Basically it's big enough to wreck our house if it ever comes down, and the roots could pose a threat to the retaining wall.

Anyone any ideas about what department in the council I should contact to get some sort of judgement done on whether the tree is safe?

Cheers

Joe

hiya
You need to contact the housing and direct services dept of street force at the council - John Harrison used to be the tree maintenance office who looked into this on 274 7640 or 2736484

oh and good luck!

Thank you!! :)

I see a day on the phone coming!

Joe

Hi Joe.........have you thought about talking to your neighbour first? I suspect that is what you will be advised to do by the council. It could be that your neighbour isn't aware of your concerns and could well agree with you and have the tree removed.

Had the same problem
Above services came and chopped it down fairly quickly
It was dangerous though as large branches kept falling off

Has the tree been there longer than the house?

I'd be interested to know how you get on with this.

Having exactly the same problem, though the trees over our wall have preservation orders. aparently if you have to get the council involved it costs 350 smakers. basically what they are saying is sort it yourself or be willing to pay.
We have a canopy of trees hung right over our house by next year we will have no light at all. if you want the numbers and adress of the office joe give us a P.M

Originally posted by rothschild
Hi Joe.........have you thought about talking to your neighbour first? I suspect that is what you will be advised to do by the council. It could be that your neighbour isn't aware of your concerns and could well agree with you and have the tree removed.

Given that this particular neighbour is not exactly a pleasant fellow I'm not going to get in to debate with him unless I have to.

I'd also be surprised that anyone can lack the imagination to understand that an umpteen foot high tree that sways in strong winds and that can be seen from a couple of miles away might cause concern! :)

But no, haven't spoken to them and once I've found out what my rights are with regard to the issue I may well do so before going further.

Cheers

Joe

Does anyone think I could get the council to take down and or trim some trees at the back of my house? They are that tall that they prevent me from having Sky TV installed as they cannot get a signal anywhere.

I know it's a long shot but if anyone else has had a similar situation I love to know how they got on!

The nuisance hedges/tall tree legislation expects you to have attempted a dialogue with the tree owner before they will come in.

I've picked up the application procedure and background notes, but haven't had time to read them thoroughly yet.

--
JGH

Originally posted by benclements2
They are that tall that they prevent me from having Sky TV installed as they cannot get a signal anywhere.

We got round that problem by putting the dish on a pole at the top of the garden pointing up under the tree canopy, and running the cable to the house through some conduit type stuff.

Originally posted by markwit
We got round that problem by putting the dish on a pole at the top of the garden pointing up under the tree canopy, and running the cable to the house through some conduit type stuff.

They tried with a pole attached to the house but still no signal. Who did you use to have it located in your garden near the tree?

You may want to have a look at this governent leaflet on the subject of trees and hedges.
www.odpm.gov.uk/stellent/groups/odpm_urbanpolicy/documents/page/odpm_urbpol_607975.pdf

It outlines the initial steps to take (talking) and lots of contact information.

Some trees are protected.

But even the protected trees are allowed to be pruned.. you have to apply and a chap from the enviroment section of the council will come and tell you what bits of the tree are to be pruned back.
Just going through the process at the moment as we have two trees with presavation orders on them in our front garden.
that is if I ever get round to posting off the letter!!
Incidently if anyone can recommend a good company to prune the trees, please do so..

Originally posted by JoePritchard
I'd also be surprised that anyone can lack the imagination to understand that an umpteen foot high tree that sways in strong winds and that can be seen from a couple of miles away might cause concern! :)
Joe

I'd be more concerned about where the roots are going. When a massive tree is cut down, the stump is usually left at or just above ground level.

Over time the roots shrink and rot, leaving nice channels for water to get in and cause subsidence.

There is a rule of thumb (I think ) that roots go out two and a half times the diameter of the widest branches.

Hiya,

Well, some rather nice people at the Council are sending me a bundle of bumph.

I'll keep you posted. Many thanks for your input and observations!

Joe

Originally posted by alchresearch
I'd be more concerned about where the roots are going. When a massive tree is cut down, the stump is usually left at or just above ground level.

Over time the roots shrink and rot, leaving nice channels for water to get in and cause subsidence.

There is a rule of thumb (I think ) that roots go out two and a half times the diameter of the widest branches.

The tree is one of the 'tall and narrow' ones, with the branches being very close to the trunk.

But yes, the roots do worry me as well. But They're not likely to come through my roof. :D

Joe