Falling Bough

[farmer rod]

Can anyone enlighten me about landowners liability for branches falling off trees.

 

In particular I discovered today a branch from an oak on our side of the fence, has come down on the neighbours side, onto a public footpath.

 

 

Also, there seems to be a lot of this sort of thing going on, any ideas as to why?

[si36]

I work for hampshire rights of way and From a rights of way point of view the liability lies with the owner of the tree, but if land owner can not be found then we would clear branch or tree and make safe and return the arisings off the footpath and back over fence:001_tt2:

[David Humphries]

Also, there seems to be a lot of this sort of thing going on, any ideas as to why?

 

Heavy mast year.

 

Acorns adding weight to over extended branches

 

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/ecology/33281-mast-year.html

 

.

[ChrisG]

Owner of the land has a duty to keep the right of way clear.

Owner of the tree still owns the branch, leaves, fruits etc.

If it costs the owner of the land money to clear the right of way/move the debris, or it has caused damage to the land owners property, they can claim costs back from the tree owner.

 

If the tree/trees are shedding out boughs like that regularly, they are telling you they're not happy and the owner of the trees should be made aware asap, especially with them being over a PROW.

 

Hope this helps a little.

[ChrisG]

On looking at the pictures further, there seems to be a lot of chlorosis in the leaves and that timber looks rotten/dead, suggesting there's a lot more going on than excess weight on the boughs from fruits and leaves.

[farmer rod]

Thanks for your replies guys, I thought that the wood at the fracture looked fairly good (laymans term for not pappy or soft) I will go and have a better look at the tree to see if there are any other signs of trouble.

 

Might nick my wood back! Thank goodness it didnt land on someone

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

I was engaged to report on tree that had fallen from the boundary hedge (Cornish hedge) into the neighbouring farmers field. The tree struck a bullock causing a broken leg which resulted in the beast being destroyed. The farmer suffering loss required a tree report for insurance claim against the neighbouring farmer (although they remain on good neighbourly terms.) I recorded all the relevant detail including extensive, visible decay at the base of the tree (to such an extent that ANY person seeing such decay would reasonably be expected to anticipate the hazardous nature of the tree - and since the farmer was drawing down stewardship funding, and regularly managing the hedgerow, should have observed and taken measures to ameliorate the hazard). Having failed to take action on the hazard, and the subsequent failure and the loss/damage incurred it should have been taken as a breach of H&SaW and Occupiers Liability Act. Guess what, insurance (NFU) refused to accept the claim.

[treequip]

Owner of the land has a duty to keep the right of way clear.

Owner of the tree still owns the branch, leaves, fruits etc.

If it costs the owner of the land money to clear the right of way/move the debris, or it has caused damage to the land owners property, they can claim costs back from the tree owner.

 

If the tree/trees are shedding out boughs like that regularly, they are telling you they're not happy and the owner of the trees should be made aware asap, especially with them being over a PROW.

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

You sure about that?

 

They aren't allowed to obstruct it but they aren't compelled to keep it clear.

[APC]

I was engaged to report on tree that had fallen from the boundary hedge (Cornish hedge) into the neighbouring farmers field. The tree struck a bullock causing a broken leg which resulted in the beast being destroyed. The farmer suffering loss required a tree report for insurance claim against the neighbouring farmer (although they remain on good neighbourly terms.) I recorded all the relevant detail including extensive, visible decay at the base of the tree (to such an extent that ANY person seeing such decay would reasonably be expected to anticipate the hazardous nature of the tree - and since the farmer was drawing down stewardship funding, and regularly managing the hedgerow, should have observed and taken measures to ameliorate the hazard). Having failed to take action on the hazard, and the subsequent failure and the loss/damage incurred it should have been taken as a breach of H&SaW and Occupiers Liability Act. Guess what, insurance (NFU) refused to accept the claim.

 

I would have thought that the degree to which the tree should be managed to prevent injury/damage, would depend entirely upon the frequency of use of the land adjacent to it. A boundary hedge in a field would tend to be such a low use area for people that more serious defects could be allowed. The foreseeability of the bull being injured would depend on size of the field, stocking density etc. The H+S Act would surely not apply to cattle, although the Occ Liability Act 57 would cover damage to goods?

[ChrisG]

You sure about that?

 

They aren't allowed to obstruct it but they aren't compelled to keep it clear.

 

 

Tell that to a load of jobsworth ramblers and see who ends up moving the branch/limb.

Ideally, local authority would move it, but depending on location, access etc, it usually falls on the landowner to keep the PROW clear. I know the textbooks prove me wrong, but in reality and all that.

I've dealt with cases exactly like this and most of the time nobody notices, but if you get the passionate ramblers involved, they're all over the landowner like a rash, even if the offending bough is nothing to do with them.