neighbor dispute

[arbormonkey]

Been asked to face a large macracarpa up to the boundary. Line but the neighbor. Next door who's. Tree it is has threatend court proceedings to any one who touches it were do I stand on this matter should I just forget.it

 

 

Thanks in advance. Jay

[Glen Poole]

If the tree isn't under a TPO or in a Conservation area and you do not need to enter their side of the garden or airspace then you should be able to get on with it.

 

If you were to prune the tree in such a way that it became unstable you could be liable in the event of the tree falling & causing injury or damage.

 

Three important cases to read up on are Lemon v Webb 1894, Pointing v Oaks 1894 & Crowhurst v Amersham 1878.

 

I hope this is of some help.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Glen Poole

[spudulike]

If the tree isn't under a TPO or in a Conservation area and you do not need to enter their side of the garden or airspace then you should be able to get on with it.

 

If you were to prune the tree in such a way that it became unstable you could be liable in the event of the tree falling & causing injury or damage.

 

Three important cases to read up on are Lemon v Webb 1894, Pointing v Oaks 1894 & Crowhurst v Amersham 1878.

 

I hope this is of some help.

 

Bang on, you can cut back anything that is breaching the boundary including the roots but if it makes the tree unstable then you can be held liable for the injury/damage it causes.

[10 Bears]

A couple of important points to make:

 

1. You must offer all arisings back to the owner as they are private property once separated from the tree. If you don't you are committing theft should you take them away.

 

2. You must not cross over the boundary line at any time without permission as this is trespass. You can of course commit aerial trespass, so you must be able to do the work from a MEWP or free standing ladder or similar.

 

Otherwise, as stated above you are free to abate back to the boundary, and this is actually irrespective of a TPO. Meaning that you can prune back even if the TPO is in place as the right to abate over-rides the TPO (but obviously only up to the boundary).

[Gary Prentice]

 

 

Otherwise, as stated above you are free to abate back to the boundary, and this is actually irrespective of a TPO. Meaning that you can prune back even if the TPO is in place as the right to abate over-rides the TPO (but obviously only up to the boundary).

 

Have you a reference for this? I know of a couple of LA's that take a different view!

 

 

Edit: not being argumentative.

[john k]

As far as I'm aware the "right to abate" which trumps a TPO only applies to the work directly required to abate a legal nuisance. This might be a branch that is causing an obstruction or damaging property, but is very unlikely to include siding up a hedge.

[10 Bears]

Hello Gary - no problem, I dont see asking a question as an argument!

 

I do have a reference for this - probably Minors again, but Im away from my books at the moment. I'll look it up later and post my findings here.

[Gary Prentice]

Thanks,

 

My Mynors is at work.

[treequip]

A couple of important points to make:

 

1. You must offer all arisings back to the owner as they are private property once separated from the tree. If you don't you are committing theft should you take them away.

 

2. You must not cross over the boundary line at any time without permission as this is trespass. You can of course commit aerial trespass, so you must be able to do the work from a MEWP or free standing ladder or similar.

 

Otherwise, as stated above you are free to abate back to the boundary, and this is actually irrespective of a TPO. Meaning that you can prune back even if the TPO is in place as the right to abate over-rides the TPO (but obviously only up to the boundary).

 

Well yes but I wish you all the luck in the world getting plod to take it seriously. Its also worth noting that if you are forced to abate the nuisance and the other party acts up you can always offer a counter suit to cover the cost of disposal

 

The trespass is a civil wrong and the other party would need to bring a private action to prevent a re occurrence. If the trespassee caused unreasonable expense they could be exposed to a suit to recover costs

 

And I also would be interested in the answer to the TPO (not conservation area???) question

[spudulike]

On OFFERING the arrisings back, don't just lob them over the fence, this is classed as fly-tipping - there is a site called "Garden Law" that I found useful when facing similar issues.