Nimby

Just looking for management options on this. Clearly supposed to be planted as a beech hedge but never managed. These are roughly 10 - 25cm dbh and after advice as to if it is too late to try and make a hedge out of it? Will a 50 - 75% reduction kill the trees or will it then become potentially a manageable hedge?

Thanks Steve. I must say that this looks more like a desiccated almost frost bitten remnants of fungi rather than AOD staining? If you zoom in on the photo you will see what I mean. The problem is, we haven't had any frost 🤔

Just wondering if anyone can identify this black fungus coming from the Oak cavity? TIA.

Interestingly I had a chat with someone who has researched numerous HH appeals and they said this "A hedge is not its trunk, it is its thickest point, so rather like looking at a Xmas Tree you can consider the fattest part of that tree is its bottom part, that becomes the thickest part of any hedge you are looking at. E.g. If you had a hedge where it was planted 2M away from the boundary of the complainant, you measure to the thickest part of the overhang of that hedge (often this can be the complainants boundary)."

Firstly, thanks for the reply tis appreciated. I was struggling with a measuring point from the hedge (and a pine tree within) and the branches that extend out towards the property. I was in a mindset that the measuring started from the trunk but now know that it's from the densest part of the hedge? is what I gather anyway. Or is it from the point of the nearest branch towards the windows? Also, how does the overhang get pruned and who by? The Act, (thanks) or guidance in 'High Hedges Complaints: Prevention and Cure' states: 4.36 Problems associated with the width of the hedge, where it overhangs and intrudes on the complainant’s property, will not normally be considered. The exception might be where the height of the hedge is a contributory factor. For example, a hedge might be so high that the complainant could not reasonably be expected to trim overhanging branches, and so cannot alleviate the problems it is causing. I have a situation with a 16m hedge that has been regularly trimmed upto 2m and the rest overhangs right into the garden and near the house. Hope that makes sense, because it doesn't to me! 😐

Is there anyone that has dealt with a HH case where overhang is to be considered? I am struggling to understand how to deal with Overhang when looking at the calculation based on the information in the ODPM's document 'Hedge height and light loss'. I am looking specifically at a hedge that's 16m tall and the overhang is very high up! I am aware that it needs to be considered as part of the Bill but find it quite confusing. TIA.

Sorry for the resurrection of an old thread, just interested to know how this 'panned out'??! To me this is not what the TPO system is to be used for, very poor of the LPA.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. My office and mobile number are on my email sig. I encourage tree contractors to speak to me with any tree issues they have. The Government also encourages this practice. Yes, of course. If it's sent direct to Planning it is logged and forwarded to me. If it is an email direct to me I make sure it is logged with Planning Support. In receipt of s S211 i will go and have a look and make a decision based on what I find. If required (a tree of interest) I will talk to the tree owner/contractor and maybe any other interested parties, PC's Tree Wardens etc and either let them know of what I think or take their comments into consideration prior to the outcome.

Does anybody not discuss an impending S211 with the TO? As a TO I am aware of the good contractors in my area, and well as bad, and I always encourage a conversation before the submission then if I know about it just advise to email me. Certain situations I don't even go on site, just email back saying that the Council has no objection. If I have confidence in the ability of a contractor to do the job right and advise the customer correctly then I am less likely to get involved. Obviously there are times when I need to inform neighbours, ward Cllrs PC's etc and ask for comments but generally speaking I have made up my mind as to the outcome. As a Council Officer I do not want to make life difficult for anyone and by working with decent contractors that makes all our lives easier. This also frees up more time for me to deal with idiots!

Recent (5 yrs) re-surfacing of road and heavily compacted ground in the immediate vicinity!!

A very large Beech tree with all sorts going on.

Not necessarily, just discuss it together. I am willing to compromise in most situations. With this I would say let's get an initial amount of work done and have a look from there.

It never ceases to amaze me the response I read about TO's and tree surgeons. Let's be honest, there are two sides to a coin. I digress. As a public servant I deal with people as I would like to be dealt with, honestly. Looking at this case, I wouldn't want to live like that with a tree encroaching so much, and suspect most on here wouldn't either. I understand why Council's don't want private contractors working on their trees but in this case they need to deal with it themselves. If I was under resourced, tree crew very busy, I would check the OP's insurance and suitability to do the job, we would discuss the works and I'd let him crack on.

A woodland TPO should only really be used if the site is a woodland. Areas orders can be in this situation if needed, in case of emergency etc. Had you told anyone that you were going to clear it again? If the land is down for development (in the Council's Local Plan?) as you say then it is surprising that the head of planning for that LA has signed of the order!

Honestly, I despise threads like this. As a TO I would meet the property owner and advise that we, the Council, will carry out works by reducing the encroachment as much as is deemed suitable (for the tree and the resident). Looking at the photo, I could advise that this is priority work and get it done asap depending on if there's any other works in that area needs doing as well.