 which are more than two metres tall. A hedge is defined as made up of a line of two or more trees or shrubs which are evergreen. The local authority also has power to act where a single tree is deemed to be dangerous. This is under section 23 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. If a tree is dangerous the owner should be persuaded of the wisdom to take it down lest it causes damage the owner will be responsible for, but if the owner is not sensible, the local authority can do the work and charge it back to the owner. Just because the height of the tree means if it falls it may damage a house, does not in itself make it dangerous . The tree may only be deemed unsafe for other reasons. From what you say, the tree next door may be at risk of damaging the boundary wall. I have to admit the legal arguments I have put forward this week are rather clutching at straws and maybe the more pragmatic solution is acknowledge to the neighbour that the tree was there first. But if a programme of tree managem){kind=link}
Ask a lawyer: the long-shot solutions to a property in the shade
Dear Gary,
My son and his partner have a small garden. Within the garden next door is a substantial tree. The trunk is close to the wall separating the two properties and the tree itself is probably 30 metres high with a considerable spread over my son’s garden.
The height and bulk of the tree means that a sizeable proportion of my son’s garden is in shade for a considerable part of the day. The height is such that I suspect that if it fell in the direction of their house it could actually damage the property.
My son and his partner have spoken to the owner of the tree who is unwilling to take any action to cut it back, though he has said that they can do so provided they do not change the overall shape of the tree which is simply not possible from their side.