A neighbouring property has very old, very big trees that overlook our drive.
Our housing ass has contacted the owner to trim them as they block out all of our natural daylight.
I got up today to find a 8 foot long branch on my drive- broke off his tree!
Does this give me any 'rights' re asking the trees to be trimmed?
Weight with environmental health etc?
Will the h.a have responsibility now due to the health+ safety risk to us?
Thanks.

I'm pretty sure you have redress. I had similar with BR and an oak tree, they had to send someone round to sort it out because they are liable if anything happens to you after you have warned them about the danger. It shouldn't be overhanging your property and once it becomes unstable like that, bingo.

Most important that either you or the Housing Ass. take pictorial evidence of the overhanging branches. I take it that no pics were taken of the fallen branch that befell onto your property?

If there is redress then you have documented evidence. I use to work for Maritime Housing Ass. and all I ever did mainly was take pictures for evidence!

Whats redress?

Every year the h.a come + inspect the property and are well aware that his trees block out our light.
They have wrote to him, knocked at his property-even offered to get the tree surgeon and invoice him. Always fobbed off, get no joy.
I emailed them about the branch incident, no reply as yet.
I will take pic of branch-thanks.
Its one of the lower ones-god help us in the winter.
Also-next doors car-bet the insurance wudnt pay out!
Would it be down to me to involve e. Health or the h.a? And are e.health even the rite people to involve?

most house insurance policies will give you free legal aid or advice on garden issues. The high hedge laws are only if you have two or more evergreens in a row and cost a £300 non refundable to just have a look.I paid to have my tree damage done won my case and still have nowt after two and a half years and five vissits to court.Send him a signed for letter telling him what the situation is, if he does"nt reply or do anything the onus is on him.Tesco sight used to do a legal letter about branches and roots. keep a copy and if he is anything like the A/H next door to me GOOD LUCK

Redress is just to get put right or compensate. Hope you get it sorted mate, it's a pain in arris when people don't just do the right thing.

Any branch that over hangs your property, can be cut down/off. The branch that is removed -MUST- be thrown back over the fence to there side, as its still there property.

It would need a professional. The trees are 100+ ft

I had the same problem at the back of my house with some Council property. It's happend twice in ten years. First I complained to the manager of the council building, got nowhere then got my local councillor involved who got it sorted. This took about 8 months to sort.

I checked my legal rights and it is correct, that if the branches are in your garden you can cut them down.

Second time round, I wasn't going to wait again for them to get their fingers out of their backsides. I waited till the weekend when the place was shut and cut them myself. There was a HUGE amount of branches that took all night to burn. Job was finished in about 3 weekend's worth of cutting. Neighbours were made up too.

My advice to you would be to just get someone in to cut them when the person is out. Once they are cut, that's it. They can hardly put the branches back. It will just wind you up each time you see them and you'll get more and more bitter about it. If you get a pro, then there shouldn't be any risk to the neighbour's property during the work.

What's the worst that could happen? The neighbour could hardly charge you for the price of damaging the trees if a pro does the work and doesn't kill them off completly.

shall i bring a chain saw home

if your offering, matey? Right of the white wall . Lol. Cud do a teeny-weeny u.e too!

if you cut anything off the neighbours vegetation then the over hangs that come in to your property boundary then you MUST put them back on the neighbours property

OHHH, believe me, i'll ENJOY chucking it all back!!

if we had trees hanging over our garden my other half would just cut them down even if he had to use a ladder and then burn them in the incinerator bin he doesent care

These are worth a phonecall - it does say 'Any permanent or temporary building and any other permanent or temporary structure, or erection, of whatever kind or nature.'

A tree must be classed as something between a structure and an erection IMHO (cue Bert).

Wirral Council - Dangerous Structures

am talking Massive Trees! Old, decrepid, dead-in-the- middle trees. Way way way older than my house! Maybe a 1000 ft would be a more accurate description! Not just a matter of climbing a ladder and sawing a dead tree limb off!!

And the neighbour who owns the trees is adjacent-not 'next door'. Its hotel grounds.
My h.a wont be arsed now its growing leaves again -'wrong season' i'd be told!

The law states that if you cut trees down which are overhanging your property (But the trees are on someone elses property)you must throw back the cuttings, I know that sounds stupid but otherwise you could be prosecuted for stealing, The law can be daft at times I know.

OH MY F IN GOD!
Just burn the f in thing down ffs!

get intouch with local councillor. a neighbour across the road had same trouble the tree has gone now.

Had similar with a big old oak tree on BR land, they sent out tree surgeons to sort it and then found out that they had just sold the paddock to someone else, my next door a...hole of a neighbour. But just an illustration of the fact that if you get onto a councillor they will sort it out for you, if they are any good.

As you are not the owner of your property and this is a dispute with neighbours property, I would be cautious about doing it yourself.

Also there may be a tree preservation order on them, in which case you need permission to even prune them.

you must have seen the size of it DD? (Right of the drive). Certainly wont be a diy jobby!

You need to "girdle" the tree. No need to climb it or pay anyone to do it. Just sneak in one night with a chisel and strip off the bark in a ring around the tree.

Just below the bark there is a thin layer of tissue called cambium. It is the part of the trunk that is alive (the wood, which is the phloem, and the bark are not alive).

One of its functions is to transport substances between the leaves and the roots. If you ring bark the tree (this is also called girdling) you will cut this line of transportation between the roots and the leaves.

The place wouldn't even notice, no fuss or legal issues. Any vandal could have done it ;-)

Wud this cause it to 'fall over+ die' taking me, asleep in my bed, with it tho?

well, judging from Neil's post he suggests that the tree is already dead and that the leaves are just being fed by the thin layer under the bark, so I would take it that the tree could fall over anytime! (Hope it does not RudeBox) Neil is a clever boy.

The tree wouldn't fall over and squish you. The strength of the tree is in the centre. It would just kill it and then the owners would have to take it down.

At least there is one good thing, it won't be getting any bigger :-)

Ok. Thanks guys. I shall be onto the newly-elected councillor next week!

Sorry Nigel but if the leaves are alive the tree is alive.
What Neil is suggesting is a quiet, surreptitious way of changing that
A tree is a 2 way system with water and minerals coming up from the roots and energy/food coming down from the leaves. Stop either route and the tree goes bye bye.
It's not instant death but it's quick enough.
It'll take a fair bit longer for the tree to rot enough to become a danger.

Thankyou- i shall girder the mo-fo. Midnight tomorrow!

I noticed that it had been done to a tree in Boswell Road in Prenton as I walked up the shop. I'll take a pic of it tomorrow and post.

A 'girdled' tree.