Essex Mums

Hi,

Just want a little advice to see if there are any legal avenues or rights we have regarding a tree which is about two metres away from our property. We live next to a public green and have contacted the council before about the maintenance of this tree, which has been pruned once in nine years.

The tree, therefore, has grown taller than the house and is a complete nuisance, it blocks out light throughout the summer months, the leaves (and small branches) are constantly falling as soon as they grow on the tree, the leaves ruin our garden and block our gutters, it's increased our home insurance as it's so close to the property due to the size and the leaves are in our washing and house all the time.

When I contacted the council a couple of years ago, they refused to do anything to the tree as it's healthy, but surely they are in charge of it being maintained appropriately? Now we have a little baby, the garden will be used more and the leaves are going to become more of a problem. I am going to contact the council again soon regarding this matter, but don't want to be fobbed off, so just wondered whether we had any rights?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Feel your pain we have 3 massive oak trees at the back of our garden, our garden is littered in acorns and leaves all year round, we have 3 young boys and actually play dodge the acorn lol, but on a serious note when it gets windy the acorns actually hit the windows of our house, and a many a time have to stop the twinkles putting them in their mouths, council don't seem to care.

I'll pass this on to Mark/Maria.

Just to let you know, Mark is on holiday until November 21st but I'm sure he will respond when he gets back.

Thanks for letting me know.

Sazoo,

Thanks for your post. Sorry to hear of the issues you have been having. Unfortunately it is not one of those areas where things are black and white.

A few questions that might help me slightly to provide you with more specific advice:
1) Who is your local council
2) Have they acknowledged responsibility for the tree in question?
3) Is there a tree preservation order in place?
4) Is there anyone else who is affected by this tree?

In terms of law, you will need to focus on the nuisance caused by the tree. The council who is responsible for the tree (or anyone who is) owes a duty of care to residents and they would have failed to fulfill that duty by allowing the tree to be a nuisance. However the element that makes this not black and white is what constitutes a nuisance. The test is whether a reasonable person would consider it a nuisance.

Therefore i would consider approaching the relevant council setting out exactly how this is causing a nuisance and what course of action they can take to alleviate this nuisance and thus fulfill their duty. My personal opinion is that it is better to approach these things in a friendly yet authorative manner first rather than resort to threats of legal action etc but these can come later if you do feel you are being fobbed off.

i hope this helps. Finding the answers to q's 1to 4 will help, but do please let me know if there is anything you want to clarify.

Kind regards
Mark, Leonard Gray Solicitors 01245 504904

Mark,

Thank you so much for your response. The answers to your questions are as follows:

1) Southend Council
2) They have pruned the tree in the past and sent someone round to look at it when I last complained, so I presume they have accepted responsibilty for it.
3) As far as I am aware there is no tree preservation order on it. We have not been informed by the council that there is one.
4) There is another property behind us which would be affected by the tree and they have an identical one a few feet away, which they have claimed as their own. This is where it gets confusing! The people who used to live behind us used to get the second tree pruned by the council, although the new people have claimed it's in their deeds and the second tree is theirs. Their front door looks over the green, so they have a little of the green in their deeds. The tree that affects us is not on our land or theirs, it is owned by the council. I hope that makes sense.

I am planning to contact the council in the next few days, if you can think of any other avenues I can request that they act on my request to maintain the tree, I would be very grateful if you could let me know.

Thank you so much for your help.

Thanks for the info. Sorry for sligt delay but I am actually on annual leave and accessing remotely!

My initial advice stands based on what you have said. Focus on the fact that the tree is causing a nuisance and they are failing to maintain their responsiblity and duty of care in preventing the tree from causing a nuisance. Can they therefore please do x,y,z (whatever it is you want to remedy the situation). chase up response a few days later to ensure they have received it and who is dealing and keep on at them.

Best of luck.

Many thanks for replying on your annual leave, I really appreciate all your advice. Time to contact the council!

Thanks so much again.