Lylandii Trees with TPO - Can anyone Help?

Hi, I have a town house in 2 rows of 5 houses. I am second from the end of the row and myself and my neighbour on the end have approximately 10 monstrously tall lylandii trees at the end of our garden. They are part of a row which runs along the entire length of all the houses but the rest are in a rear access alley to all the properties. There is a TPO on all of them as they originally provided a barrier between the houses behind us and the factory that was originally on our road before our houses were built.

Some of our neighbours have received notification of a planning application being granted for them to be reduced in height - who pays for this work? is it the Council or is the person who has made the application (they live in one of the houses behind) and its been granted for the trees behind several of the houses. As I have some of the trees in my garden do I still need planning permission to trim them? My neighbour has lobbed off loads this week with no planning permssion and seems to think that as they are in our actual gardens we can "maintain" them. I really want to do the same and the tree surgeon who did it can do it for me and the people living in the house behind will chip in as so much light is lost in our gardens but want to know if I need permission? I would be grateful for any help! :cnfs:

 

If there is a TPO on them, as far as I'm aware you can't make any changes to their general appearance. There are exceptions such as when a tree is a health and safety issue (ready to fall down for example), but I believe you still need to get permission.

If someone has applied for planning permission to reduce their height, let them foot the bill. Their planning application won't be granted unless they've said that the trees are their responsibility.

 

The trees are the responsability of the person whos` land they stand on, BUT that person MUST get planning permission to carry out any work on the trees. Havib=ng said that, how Leylandii ever got a TPO is beyond me, and I would look into getting the order lifted.:thumb:

 

Contact the Council and ask them Noonoo.
I can't imagine how leylandi got TPO.

I would deal with the problem sooner rathet than later. They get bigger and more expensive to remove every year. The person who will pay is the person whose ground they grow on.

 

Thanks everyone for you replies. I will phone the council to see what I can do to get the TPO lifted. They originally were planted years and years ago as on the site of our houses used to be a printworks and they created a barrier between it and the residential area. I love the privacy they provide and we have lived with them for some 8 years, thinning them out ever few years. I can't believe none of the other residents (some 15 houses) have not tried to get it lifted before....

 

Councils these days are obsessed with health and safety, and it just so happens that it is easier to get a TPO lifted if there are health and safety grounds. If the trees have been their for years and years, I imagine they are pretty tall by now, in which case you could argue that in strong winds there is a risk of them collapsing onto your garden/house, which would result in a hefty liability for whoever owns the trees and/or whoever prevented the work being done on them by imposing/enforcing the TPO. Just something to bear in mind when you speak to the council.

 

Thats a very interesting point as one of my neighbours is concerned about one branch that looks pretty dodgy and is worried about it falling onto her house, as I said before I live in a town house and these trees are now taller than our houses!!! I am on the job to the council and will post what they say!! We all have very small gardens with these huge trees towering at the end. Since we have lived here, a resident in the houses behind tried to get all the houses to chip and get them lobbed at the top but it all fell through. I can't believe no-one has tried to get the TPO lifted on health and safety grounds. My direct neighbour who like me has them actually in their garden has gone ahead last week and taken the tops off but it would be just my luck if I went ahead and did that I would get the Council heavies after me...!!

 

are you sure its got a TPO? Isn't it more likely it was just a condition of planning to have a hedge around the factory? Best check with the council.

 

Dai is right, you can be fined and prosecuted, I think it is something ridiculous like 20,000 pounds or so many times the 'amenity value' of the tree. (we had a tree at college that would work out over a 100,000 pound fine if you were to carry out any works to the tree - special case I know, but you get my drift.)

Anyway, I know of one council in this country that would put a TPO on conifer hedges everything, and the tree officer would spend hours trying to argue works to be carried out (like take them out).

Noonoo, I would telephone the council, and ask for the tree officer to come out and have a look at your situation. He will have the relevent details of the TPO.

Hope this Helps!

 

Cutting any branches from a tree with a TPO on it can lead to a £30,000 fine. What I can't understand is this, what lunatic put a TPO on a leylandii hedge in the first place. They should (the trees) be outlawed in the same way as japanese knotweed.

 

If the fine is based on the 'amenity' value of the tree, surely that means that the fine would be negative and you would get paid for it!