“My” sycamore tree causing issues for neighbours

It is big, probably about 40 ft high. When it’s in leaf it looks ginormous and is casting shadows
over neighbours’ gardens ruining lawns etc.. A lady from the street behind me has just called round and asked if I would consider having it reduced. She said that her and two other neighbours on her side are prepared to contribute to costs and obviously I said that we would too.

It looks like a proper big job to me. Has anybody had a large tree reduced and if so what kind of costs could be involved?

From a legal standpoint, I didn’t plant the tree, it was here when I moved in in 1993. Can I be forced to have this work done – just in case the offers of contributions are reneged on?

TiA

You could be anywhere from 300-500 quid to get that done, if they’re gonna pay 2/3, then I’d grab it with both hands to be honest.

Great fire wood btw 😉

Yeah. I asked my neighbour to reduce their big front garden oak. I sorted a quote for them and chipped in a 1/3.
£300 iirc.
It looks great now – really good shape and isn’t overhanging our drive and brushing against our 1st floor windows.

Thanks.

It was a very civil, pleasant even, conversation. I said I didn’t want it chopped down as it is lovely and gives us some privacy in summer. But I said I would compromise and come to a mutual solution on height etc..

Sycamores are non native, very invasive and cause impact through sap dropping and massive leaf drop. I have one on the railway behind us that I will be asking to be chopped as is it now completely blocking light from half the garden. I love trees but am definitely not a fan of sycamore.

They sound like decent neighbours. And it is a massive tree! I’d go for it if I was in your position.

You are Zacchaeus and I claim my five sestertii

I have exactly the same in the back of our garden. We also had a massive Birch that was overhanging the house and paid about £800 to have that totally removed some years back. I’d happily take some cash of the neighbours to get ours dropped down a bit.

A lot of the cost is getting all the gear up the tree – how much they chop is not that relevant. Stump removal was also a big part of the cost IIRC.

We got three beech trees “lowered” a bit earlier this year and cost us about £800 but also included about a cubic meter of dried logs. Not sure when the best time of year to do this is, probably not right now with nesting birds, but I don’t think it’s too unreasonable an ask and from the photo it does look too big for the location really. Pretty sure it doesn’t matter that you didn’t plant the tree, you bought the land so you bought the tree. The only legal thing to check would be the presence of a “Preservation Order”.

Should be able to check for a TPO on line, best not to advertise what you are doing till the last minute incase someone tries to put a TPO on it before the tree surgeon arrives.

it was here when I moved in in 1993.

In which case you are legally responsible for getting 27 years growth removed*

*Not really. If it’s in “your” garden then it’s “your” tree and “your” responsibility.

Its your lucky day if if they are gonna chip in!

Take the opportunity to get rid!

Big trees in small gardens quickly become a liability.

Just get a couple of quotes.

Bum your own dog, then hammer frozen sausages into your lawn.

Don’t bother having it reduced, it will cost round about the same as having it taken out and it will be back to the same size two years later.

In UK – sunshine is like gold.

Be a good neighbour and give them back their sunshine.

Will no one think of the baby robins!?!

I’d go for it – getting it done properly is very expensive and it will improve both your and their environments

I have DIY reduced the canopy of a huge Sycamore in our garden. I really like it as do all the birds in it. Neighbours aren’t so keen on it, but it was there before they moved in, so I don’t have that much sympathy for them.

Does drop a ton of shit on the lawns though and it a greenfly magnet, but overall I prefer having it.

Easiest to work on when its not in leaf as you can see what you’re doing and you don’t get covered in green fly.

Interestingly the next door neighbour, who complains the most about it, applied for planning permission to get a Sycamore in her garden felled; council instantly put a TPO on it. Since that, she has stopped asking about ours….

I have DIY reduced the canopy of a huge Sycamore in our garden. I really like it as do all the birds in it. Neighbours aren’t so keen on it, but it was there before they moved in, so I don’t have that much sympathy for them.

Does drop a ton of shit on the lawns though and it a greenfly magnet, but overall I prefer having it.

Easiest to work on when its not in leaf as you can see what you’re doing and you don’t get covered in green fly.

Interestingly the next door neighbour, who complains the most about it, applied for planning permission to get a Sycamore in her garden felled; council instantly put a TPO on it. Since that, she has stopped asking about ours….

Why would they put a TPO on a sycamore? I live close to a conservation area so checked before we took the beech tree down. I had no issue – I had put a form in to the planning system and they just rang me to say, outside the area so no need for permission – crack on.

Sounds like a fair plan. A neighbour had the tree opposite us (didn’t affect us) chopped by cowboys that introduced disease. There is a note on planning that another neighbour had complained about the size – it was massive, 2 4ft trunks, and it was highlighted then it was diseased. Neighbour ignored it, until it fell down on Christmas Day a couple of years ago. Missed cars, but destroyed 3 garden fences. He got the bill from the council.

Depends on the area you live, i have two big sycamores in my garden both have TPOs on them.

Pain in the backside as one is clearly a self-set tree as its younger than the main one and very close so bends out as the tree is fighting for light. So ideally i’d like to take the smaller one out, to give the bigger one more room. TPO so no chance – as they are both technically ‘healthy’

All the big trees in my area have TPOs irrelevant of species

…generous of them to offer.

Just be aware that a sycamore will regrow quite quickly so you may need to budget to repeat the same exercise in 5/6 years.

We are the opposite – our neighbours have 4 Sycamores of 40’+ height.
They block sunlight for about 50% of the day to most of our garden, even in the height of summer. They leaf drop our way (due to prevailing winds) and I collect a couple of ton bags of leaves each year from them off our lawn. They also self seed every bloomin-where. They are a weed among trees.

I have no legal or even moral claim to having them removed, and I like the trees. But I would gladly see them reduced or removed.

Take the opportunity. Be a nice neighbour.

Ideally then replaced with ‘nicer’ trees which are kept at reasonable height, so making the wildlife and neighbours happy.
We have some lovely new dwarf fruit trees to replace the one birch and 3 rowan’s we had removed – 2x plum, 2x apple, 2x pear and a cherry. Shortly to add a couple of crab apples too. All can be kept at 10-12′ in height, some are 6-8′ maximum growth. I also plan some very slow growing evergreens such as Korean Pine, Red Pine and Black pine, as the birds like these and we can chop them down when they get the height of our back fence (@10′).

Some areas have blanket TPOs meaning that whatever was growing at the date when the TPO was enacted is protected. Sometimes there is an inventory but other times it is a matter of opinion. Apparantly, counting the rings is not an acceptable approach. My property is subject to a TPO from 1951 so here a full grown trees which aren’t covered.

This is disappointing. I was looking forward to a proper STW ‘Neighbours’ thread as it’s been a while. What do I get instead? Friendly and reasonable neighbours offering to contribute towards something. What’s happening?

The loss of light isn’t clear but they could argue they had a right under prescription and the tree has grown to the point where it interferes with that right. With no TPO this would be easier to argue. Roots and branches could be a liability under tortious nuisance. When the tree was planted is irrelevant as you adopted the liability when you took posession.

Consider what you want to do with the stump. They can be more work to remove than a tree.

Why would they put a TPO on a sycamore?

Problem is, there is always someone who wants each tree cut down, which would result in a tree-less landscape. Personally I’m all for blanket TPO on all trees and then argue over the exceptions.

In my case I don’t really understand someone who buys a house whose garden is over shadowed by a tree and then moans about it like they’ve somehow been wronged.

Mind you all our houses back onto the railway and there’s always someone starting a petition complaining about something Railway related; like they’re going to move the main Cambridge to London line just because someone who bought a house next to it decides they don’t like living near trains….

Getting a big tree like topped given the fact that it could easily go drastically wrong? I would have thought 1500-2000 to do it properly with an insured tree surgeon.

I know you can put tree preservation orders in and it makes it difficult to do much about the tree. If you want go ahead and top it (technical term for cutting it back) it should be done in winter or end of summer (I think!).

It’s a big job as the have to lower each individual branch via a system of ropes, saw them up and then chip them. It’s complex work. Definitely more than 300-500 quid I would have thought.

As it is not a hedge you cannot be forced to undertake work on the tree, however you do have a duty of care to persons using you land, invited or not and to persons using surrounding land if they may be affected by the escape of something from your property. It’s a Sycamore though and generally fairly tough, if it has tight forks it is not uncommon for those to split out. With regard to the cost, if you have straightforward access to your garden a team of competent arborists would probably charge between 300 – 500 for a reduction depending where you’re located. Beware of giving the job to anyone who turns up in a vehicle advertising lopping and topping, they could be be chancers or just experienced, if you care for the tree and want keep it ask them some questions about best practice, a heavy reduction will take more than 30% of the foliage off but they should make you aware of this and provide options, definitely avoid if they can’t tell you about BS3998. It goes without saying make sure they carry the correct insurances. Removal and replacement, if the garden is not huge you will probably have to consider stump removal, you can do this yourself but I have been to more than one stump with a dry moat around it. Soil type will have some effect on replacement selection particularly if it is at the ends of textural spectrum, pH range or shallow over chalk.

Sycamores are non native, very invasive

Some professionals regard them as naturalised, they have been around for a while for example in Cumbria old pairs are often found close to farm entrances. Personally I think there are better species to have in a garden having said that British gardens are so full of non native flora that moaning about a sycamore tree is a bit churlish

You will want to reduce it one day, take the offer and get it done properly

Personally I’m all for blanket TPO on all trees and then argue over the exceptions.

TPOs get slapped on any old crap at a whim, with no consideration or rules in regard to subsequent maintenance that the people that are affected by such a ruling bring.

A law on maintaining trees would be far better.

Sadly that’s unlikely as even LAs have absolved themselves of that responsibility now, unless it’s dangerous.

In my case I don’t really understand someone who buys a house whose garden is over shadowed by a tree and then moans about it like they’ve somehow been wronged

When they buy the house it’s not that much of a problem. 10 years later when it’s 10ft taller and wider because it’s not been maintained, then it’s a problem.

Can you tell that unmaintained trees annoy me? 🙂

I would get rid of it completely; sycamores are horrible messy trees. Replace it with something more suited to a garden. Once its gone everybody will get more light and much less mess and dirt.

@Derek, Is this the neighbour with the daughter that doesn’t understand how windows work?

I think that one tree is ok but I’d soon get sycamore.

Talking of stump/root removal, I’m working for a bloke at the moment who decided to diy it by fitting a chop saw blade onto a 9″ grinder. Removed the guard too obvs 😳

Needless to say he ended up in A&E. If you look carefully you can still see the blood from where he tagged his leg while moving it across his body 😳😳😳

Get rid and start with something new, and go plant a forest somewhere else.

As for getting rid. Pocket neighbours money. Go buy lots of petrol, spray it on tree, light a match and have a cosy neighbourhood BBQ… for the next week

You have good neighbours!

If they are going to pay 2/3 I would take their hand off and get it done.

Needless to say he ended up in A&E

Very lucky to only end up in A&E. There was a chap on the DIYnot forum killed with a tool like that.

A reciprocating saw is quite good for dealing with roots. Safer and cheaper blades, too.

Is this the neighbour with the daughter that doesn’t understand how windows work?

Yes. One of three houses at the back who are interested in getting this done

Yes. One of three houses at the back who are interested in getting this done

I’ll be round in an hour or so with an axe and a web cam.

I would take the opportunity to get it taken out then replace with something that will give you approaching the same shade/privacy but from a smaller tree.
A pleached hedge may do the same but spendy and needs maintenance and looks very good.