mature trees and conifers

[redcrx]

My parents have lived in their house for 25 years. When they furst moved in they planted a row of conifers on the rear boundary as behind was a large industrial unit.

The people who own the unit have just sold the land to a housing developer and my parents are now wondering if they will be forced to cut down the trees on the boundary. Can anyone give any info on this. The trees are 30-40ft high and as i said have been in situ for 25 years. My parents house has never been overlooked and the last thing they want is 15/20 houses at the end of the back garden all with views of my parents home.

[Robert G]

I sympathise with your parents on this, but they may be worrying unduly. I think that if this is praying on their mind then the best thing to do would be to ascertain where they stand, legally, as soon as possible. If they do find they are required to do something about their trees it is probably best that they have all the information and allow themselves the maximum amount of time to deliberate and plan. I suggest they start by making an enquiry of their local planning authority (City, Borough or District Council to whom they pay their Council Tax).

Logic dictates that if their trees were there first (ie long before someone decides to seek planning permission to develop the industrial unit land as housing - a 'change of use' - then the trees should be safe. I hope that this proves to be the case.

[kwicky]

I assume that the branches of one half of the tree are projected into the new gardens. If by law they can cut back the branches to the boundary won't it make for a very lop sided tree?

[redcrx]

As far as i can recall the trees are about 4 or 5 feet in from the boundary so trimming the overhang would not cause any problems for the trees kwicky.

Robert, thank you, we are to make enquiries with the local authority but as with most queries we are not hopeful of any answers within the next 6 months.

[Robert G]

6 months???? That's outrageous, and if true of other enquiries I suggest you find out who your local councillor is and phone him or her. Somebody should be able to give you at least a provisional 'in principle' response within the same day, if not immediately. Which is your local council?

[redcrx]

Town council are OK (my dads on it) but district are pretty much useless (mainly because hes a different party to them)

Strange but seems to be true lol

Perhaps I shall give them a call tomorrow and see if they reply to me

[WendyS]

I'm not at all sure about the trees being safe as new legislation was introduced a couple of years ago to mitigate against the impact these trees have on cutting out light from neighbours and the general nuisance they cause. . Your parents may well find that once the new houses are built the new occupants will object strongly to the lack of sunlight that these trees cause at at 30 - 40 feet, which is extremely high and quite antisocial, even though they have been there for a long time.
I believe the suggested legal height for such conifers is now around 11 feet and your parents could well find that new residents ask them to have them cut back to a more sociable height. If you google Lleylandi hedge legislation you'll probably be able to find out more details

[alan30]

The High Hedges legislation takes into account the height of the trees, the distance to the building, the compass bearing as well as affected windows and sloping ground. The figures are put into an equation which then gives and action height which a council can enforce on the owner of the hedge. This will only happen if someone has complained, and probably paid a fee, to the council. Each hedge is different and there is no standard height. Get involved in the planning process at the consultation stage and insist the screening is required and get the layout to allow sufficent distance between the new houses and the hedge. Request landscaping to screen the new houses. Ask the council to consider whether the hedge is an important feature and should be retained with protection.

[Thunderbird+]

Hopefully the housing developers may have the foresight to include the conifers into the scheme as a plus rather than an obstruction to their plans. I've seen plenty of new and old housing projects which incorporate existing trees as part of the ambience and charecture of the lanscaping.
There are some new houses not far from me, with some huge wellingtonias, (120ft) planted way back in victorian times with are now a feature and have dictated where the new homes have been built rather than the other way round.
I think grtting the councils tree officer involved may be a wise step! Good Luck Tbird+

[buildersmate]

I think Thunderbird gets closest to the best way forward. All the stuff about the High Hedges legislation is correct, but that was intended against thoughtless neighbours who grow hideously high hedges once a neighbour is already in situ. The situation is different here - you've had the high hedge for many years and Planning Permission is about to be requested that changes the situation on the other side of the boundary. What you don't want is sometime later after the houses are up, a new resident getting the trees chopped under the High Hedges guidelines. They KNEW the trees were there when they bought the house!
Whilst you are unlikely to get (or even want) Tree Preservation Orders on conifers, you could seek to establish that any Planning Permission is granted conditional on the retention of the trees at their current (or something close to it) height. You should be a consultee in the Planning Permission phase, being so close to the Development, but it would be a good idea to approach the Planning Dept to see if such an objection at the PP stage might be received with a sympathetic ear.