Dangerous oak on verge

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Hi Mark, hope you're well.

 

In my experience 'fence-lines' are seldom accurate as property boundary markers...and a very protracted, and often non-definitive, situation can often ensue trying to accurately determine such.

 

The Highway Authority have a responsibility for both their own trees, obviously, and private trees within falling distance of the highway, i.e. duty of care to users of the highway, albeit ever case where an incident / damage occurred the 1st defendant, the landowner, rather than the HA, has been prosecuted.

 

Sorry, waffling around the subject really but it may be worth putting a challenge in writing to the County Surveyor disputing ownership...hopefully they may then have something / plans more definitive they can present.

 

Good luck..

Paul

[Mark Bolam]

Hi Paul,

 

The property owner in question is a multi-millionaire, and my mate is a posho farmer land agent who handles matters like this for him.

Arguing the toss on this one is above my pay grade!

So is the job these days, I'm happy just to find him some decent firms who will quote on it when the time comes.

[fagus]

More than often than not the highways authority do not own the land contained by roads and verges but have established -mostly inherited from old toll roads/ parish rights for highways- i.e the right of the public to pass and repass over the land -this often has existed for centuries. The subsoil is still with the adjacent landowner and that is what a big tree is mostly in.

LA's will only have the title deeds for land they have purchased for new roads and improvements and will usually maintain they only own trees they have planted. 

As we know maintenance of highways is through different legislation.

[Khriss]

Any pics on this one ? Or are we not allowed to see K