Nikki1975

Thank you for your advice. I did mention in an earlier post that I have a medium shrinkable clay soil with flint deposits (although this could have easily been missed in my post and replies) so I don’t know if that helps with my question about heave? Thanks again.

Thanks for your advice. Apologies for the wrong context of the word ‘investment’ I’m sorry it offended you! It was meant in a way that I work hard to pay for my home on my own as an ‘investment’ for my kids future and don’t want local authority trees to cause damage to it. It might not be much but it’s mine. However I didn’t actually mention whether I have any other properties.

Thank you so much you have been really helpful.

Thank you for your reply. I am so wary of going through my insurance regarding this as that’s what the council advised me to do when I first found some cracks in my wall outside (which I wasn’t sure if was down to the trees) and the council told me to go through my insurance to investigate which I naively did at the time and they had to put it through as a potential subsidence claim which basically put my insurance premium up from about £25 a month to well over £80 a month until after a year or so it was said it wasn’t subsidence but then that particular insurance company (which after reading reviews with hindsight was a shocking company anyway) wouldn’t insure me as my garden path was uneven due to the roots and asked me to fix it which I said I couldn’t afford to and didn’t see how it was my responsibility as it was local authority trees causing the damage. It’s all been a complete nightmare if I am honest. Just a question but would it be for me to claim against my insurance if there were problems in the future if the trees were removed and caused problems or would it be the council’s responsibility? Surely I shouldn’t be again expected to pay high premiums again for an issue which isn’t actually mine? Sorry for all the questions ?

Thank you for your reply. I did have an initial consultation with a solicitor and she advised the same. They were quick to say in their offer that just because they were making an offer did not mean they were accepting liability so basically covering themselves. This has all been and still is such a headache . The solicitor is happy to write to them for me and claim back most of what I am paying out but she wanted me to find out what is likely to happen to the ground when the trees are removed so she can factor that cost in but no one seems to know what will happen that’s also why I was trying to find out how silver birch react when removed if that makes sense. You’ve been very helpful thank you. I feel like I am going to be a tree expert myself after all this is done! ?

Thank you for your reply i am not sure if I am honest without looking. I will have to check.

Thank you for your reply. Yes I have contacted the local councillor a while ago and she was very empathetic and did help in a way as the council actually responded to me when she was involved but ultimately the council wouldn’t budge and just told me to go through their insurers to get the damage fixed which is where I am at now, however like a said contractors aren’t willing to remove the roots to level the garden whilst the trees are still there and the arborist that did the report said that it was pointless repairing garden whilst trees are in situ as problems will likely reoccur. The more I think about it I might just sent this info to the council and include the councillor again and see what happens ?

Thank you I have already put a claim in for damage to my garden and they are making an offer of £5000 in full and final payment which I don’t want to take incase of future issues. Also the people that are quoting (the council asked me to send quotes) aren’t happy to cut the roots as I suspected so really will be pushing for council to remove them as I don’t have the money and worry that if I do remove them (with the councils consent) then any future problems that may arise from them being removed ie subsidence or heave will fall to me to pay for or remedy if that makes sense.

Hi I hope that someone can help me as I seem to be getting nowhere. I have 2 huge silver birch trees (one is 15m in height and the other is 12m in height after both of them being reduced in 2017) which are situated 5m from my house on my property boundary and owned by the council. I have been in a constant battle with the council about the damage the trees are causing to my garden as the roots are on the surface barely covered by shingle which is the only thing I can have in my garden currently, I cannot add more shingle as this will then cover my damp course. The roots have made my path uneven and and they are pushing a drain out of the ground. There are also random (sometimes quite large) branches falling into my garden and so feel my front garden is unuseable. The council have refused so far to remove the trees and say that they will contribute towards costs for me to have my garden reinstated including removing tree roots (despite telling me before not to touch them as this could make the trees unstable) and put right. Due to the conflicting information the council were giving me and the refusal of their own arborist to come out and check the trees I paid to have a private arborist report done to try and get some clarity. The private arborist report I had done said the trees are showing signs of decay, are damaging my garden and are too close to the house and any repairs to the garden whilst the trees were still in situ would not be satisfactory as the problems would likely reoccur and so the recommendation was that the trees should be removed. I have yet to send this report to the council and their liability insurer but still think they may ignore it even though I will be pushing for the trees to be removed. However now I am concerned about what the consequences if they are removed will this affect the soil/ground and ultimately my property months or years down the line? And if so who will be liable for the costs/Repairs? Do the council have a duty to monitor the ground movement or anything after removing the trees? Of note I have had the soil type checked and I have a medium shrinkable clay with flint deposits. I am so worried and stressed by the whole situation and worry for the future of my house and investment. I would be so grateful for any advice if anyone has been through or has knowledge of a similar scenario. Many thanks