Any tree surgeons on here?

[Gollom]

Stepson has a troublesome sycamore tree in his garden which is causing problems plus making the pavement out side messy and slippery. However he lives in a conservation area, so I am looking for a bit of advice on what I can or can't do and any ways of getting round the rules

 

[ioweddie]

cut it down and pay the fine..wont be much

 

[ALFAitalia]

Erm....no.... the fine is actually unlimited now thanks to a recent change.... so down to the mood of the magistrate on the day. But even before that it was up to £2500.....not my idea of "wont be much"! But it only applies to trees with trunks over 4 inches....

The reason I know is because an arrogant neighbour chopped down a lovely protected Tamerisk tree near me.... that was not even growing on his land!.... but was restricting his sea view. So I grassed him up. He won't do that again!

 

[Gollom]

Erm....no.... the fine is actually unlimited now thanks to a recent change.... so down to the mood of the magistrate on the day. But even before that it was up to £2500.....not my idea of "wont be much"! But it only applies to trees with trunks over 4 inches....

The reason I know is because an arrogant neighbour chopped down a lovely protected Tamerisk tree near me.... that was not even growing on his land!.... but was restricting his sea view. So I grassed him up. He won't do that again!

I saw that on the .gov website - hence the question re getting around the rules. The tree is beautiful, very well established and well over 4 inches - more like 4 feet at least! Main issues are:

Blocking gutters
Carpeting roof with debris
Providing a route into my loft for squirrels (via overhanging branches)
Cutting out natural light
Covering cars with debris and bird faeces
Carpeting lawn with debris
As it overhangs the fence, pavement beyond is dangerous (especially when it rains) as the resulting mulch is slippery which could cause problems to passers by.

 

[ALFAitalia]

I dont think any of those give you reason to chop down such a big tree. You are not responsible for the footpath outside your house either. Unless it's likely to fall there is not much that you can do about it..... if its as big as your say hopefully it will be left. Too many trees get chopped down imo. Not want you want to here though! It must have been there when you moved in?

 

[mattc]

First off check if it has a TPO (tree preservation order). If it has it's a council consultation job and even if they let you prune it it will not be more than 40% ish of the mass.
If not look consult with a proper tree surgeon locally and ask how much mass you can take away, the more the merrier. The tree WILL grow back unless it's very badly diseased.

My brother used to do this sort of stuff but not for quite a while so get proper advice.

Sounds like a big tree so even giving them all the timber it will not be 200 quid. (You could get a couple of lads from the north east to do it, they might be a bit tied up at the moment though).

Is it that big it will need a crane to hold any large timbers so it does not damage anything underneath? Even just 6' of timber @ 12" diameter weighs enough you need the Hulk to catch it

 

[mattc]

To reiterate other posts please don't drop it completely, take it back hard, in 2 years it will be very happy, the bigger root system will support the regrowth beautifully.

 

[clk320x]

Erm....no.... the fine is actually unlimited now thanks to a recent change.... so down to the mood of the magistrate on the day. But even before that it was up to £2500.....not my idea of "wont be much"! But it only applies to trees with trunks over 4 inches....

The reason I know is because an arrogant neighbour chopped down a lovely protected Tamerisk tree near me.... that was not even growing on his land!.... but was restricting his sea view. So I grassed him up. He won't do that again!

Just out of interest what’s the fine if it’s not a ‘protected’ tree ? (By the way I genuinely only ask solely out of interest )

 

[Gollom]

I dont think any of those give you reason to chop down such a big tree. You are not responsible for the footpath outside your house either. Unless it's likely to fall there is not much that you can do about it..... if its as big as your say hopefully it will be left. Too many trees get chopped down imo. Not want you want to here though! It must have been there when you moved in?

Don't think I mentioned chopping it down? That would be bad indeed. No, even lopping branches in a conservation area needs permission

 

[Gollom]

Just out of interest what’s the fine if it’s not a ‘protected’ tree ? (By the way I genuinely only ask solely out of interest )

£2.5K!!

It does not have a TPO. Just found out my stepsons dad knows a certified tree surgeon which should help.

 

[clk320x]

£2.5K!!

It does not have a TPO. Just found out my stepsons dad knows a certified tree surgeon which should help.

If it’s in his garden and it’s not a protected tree why would he be fined to cut it down?

Edit - just saw conservation area..

 

[Chrishazle]

We're outside the conservation area on our village, but when building started and a tree was spotted being chopped down on the property next to ours, a villager reported it to local council, tree lady came straight out and slapped TPO's on every large tree in our cul-de-sac - including ours! As a result I have to apply every 4 years to give our tree a haircut! Thankfully I now know the correct terminology (epicornic growth removal to remove the new spindly growth in the centre of the tree since the last 4 year cut) and crown reduction evey 8 years to reduce the horizontal extent and overhang of roof, garage, footpath. I'm currently wiating for approval of this year's application!

A neighbour has a large oak in their back garden that they want done next year and think they can apply to reduce it by 1/3rd for their solar panel installation on their roof.

 

[MrGreedy]

We've just arranged to have a tree cut back with our neighbour. Some sort of 'normal tree-shaped' poplar (not a straight stick like the ones you see around fields) was about 50ft, cut back super hard to about 15ft. It was £1200, but needed a lot of chaps to carry the cut pieces to the road.

The tree surgeon recommended we do something with it, as they said the heaviest branches would likely start dropping in the next 5 years due to size, so it was pollard hard or remove. We went for pollard hard, which wasn't much cheaper than remove.

 

[ioweddie]

Erm....no.... the fine is actually unlimited now thanks to a recent change.... so down to the mood of the magistrate on the day. But even before that it was up to £2500.....not my idea of "wont be much"! But it only applies to trees with trunks over 4 inches....

The reason I know is because an arrogant neighbour chopped down a lovely protected Tamerisk tree near me.... that was not even growing on his land!.... but was restricting his sea view. So I grassed him up. He won't do that again!

Oooops! Didn't know they changed it. Sorry

 

[NJSS]

Conservation areas – You must give six weeks’ notice before carrying out work to trees in a conservation area that are not protected by a TPO. This is achieved through a Section 211 notice.

Source:- Works to Trees - Consent types - Planning Portal

Section 211 Notice:-

Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas

Explains the legislation governing Tree Preservation Orders and tree protection in conservation areas.

www.gov.uk

 

[Gollom]

We're outside the conservation area on our village, but when building started and a tree was spotted being chopped down on the property next to ours, a villager reported it to local council, tree lady came straight out and slapped TPO's on every large tree in our cul-de-sac - including ours! As a result I have to apply every 4 years to give our tree a haircut! Thankfully I now know the correct terminology (epicornic growth removal to remove the new spindly growth in the centre of the tree since the last 4 year cut) and crown reduction evey 8 years to reduce the horizontal extent and overhang of roof, garage, footpath. I'm currently wiating for approval of this year's application!

A neighbour has a large oak in their back garden that they want done next year and think they can apply to reduce it by 1/3rd for their solar panel installation on their roof.

Could you email me the outline text please? Reinventing the wheel and all that! Will PM you

 

[W1ghty]

This forum is a great source of all things knowledge !

 

[NJSS]

Chrishazle - I too would like a copy of your application please.

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Nigel

 

[Chrishazle]

Chrishazle - I too would like a copy of your application please.

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Nigel

Need an email address, I'll attach a copy of my recent application (as I have already done for Gollom). PM it to me.

 

[NJSS]

Many thanks email address PMed.

NJSS