Very large conifers, advice please?

Hello everyone, i'm new on here but i was hoping someone could help me with regards to some very large intrusive conifers that boundary my property but aren't on my land :(

It's a new build property and the garden is east facing, these conifers run along the east and south sides of my fence, so consequently my new garden doesn't see any sunlight whatsoever as the trees are as tall as the house :(
I didnt realise this at the time as we moved in in the summer. The developers are still using their site which the trees back onto but they are very slow in dealing with the enquiry about the land owner who must own these trees.

Here are some pictures i took the other day, the sun was out, you just cant see it in the garden!

http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/ad109/piggieness/garden%20stuff/IMAG0009.jpg

http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/ad109/piggieness/garden%20stuff/IMAG0015.jpg

http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/ad109/piggieness/garden%20stuff/IMAG0016.jpg

 

They are a bit overbearing aren't they. I think they're the dreaded Leylandii too, which means apart from the lack of light, they also rob your ground of all the moisture and nutrients.

I'm fairly sure there's some recent piece of law that works in your favour, I just can't remember the details.

I hope you manage to get it sorted. Good luck.

 

Have a look at this Smoo, it may be of help.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4596685.stm

 

Oh no! I was hoping they weren't Leylandii :(

I havent really had a chance yet to take a proper look at the garden and the trees but all of the lawn has died over winter, i'm not sure if this is because of the trees, (shade, or lack of nutrients) Next doors grass is still alive but i dont think they get much sun on their lawn either.

http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/ad109/piggieness/garden%20stuff/IMAG0005.jpg

Our garden seems to be quite damp though, so maybe the hedge isnt sucking up that much moisture?
The only bit of sun in the garden is on the fence, which is reflected from the living room window :$

 

I'm sure you'll get it sorted, but in the meantime, bear in mind that as we head through spring into summer some sunlight will get into your garden. It seems worse now because the sun is so low in the sky that everything casts shadows, but soon you will at least get the midday sun in there.

The news article Daitheplant posted is useful. I think that's the recent piece of law I was trying to think of.

Who owns the land with the Leylandii on it? If you struggle to find out, the land registry website might help you, but unfortunately it costs to do a seach. Here's the website.

http://www.landsearch.net/index.html

 

Smoo, I see you say your house is"new build"?

If so, was the hedge there before the houses were built?

Maybe the hedge was planted because new houses were being built on what was a greenfield site?

I dont know, but it depends on how you look at things, and from what side of the hedge you are standing.
Must admit I would not like to live that close to a hedge that high, but it could actually be the developers fault you are in that situation.

I hope you can reach some kind of an agreement with those concerned.

 

Blimey, thats a nitemare Smoo.

Its crazy that you can't erect a fence of 2 meters without planning but you can grow a hedge that will reach the size of a house:DOH:

I hope you get it sorted soon.

 

Hi Pete,

Yes the hedges were there before the houses were built, but from what i can tell on googlemaps, there seemed to be a business site here before the developers moved in.

They removed part of the hedge further along the street for access but just left these ones, although they seem to have part trimmed the overhang in our gardens. I really dont know why they built houses so close to these hedges, although i suppose im the numpty that moved in here! :0

I liked the fact it was secluded, i just didnt realise how secluded it would turn out! I cant even see whats on the other side of the hedges from any upstairs window!

 

Yep its a problem, the fact it was a buisness site before the houses seems about right, the people on the other side needed a screen I guess.

I think you might be able to convince them to reduce the height now, I think I'd take the softly softly approach to start with.
As has been said, things should improve as the days get longer, and hope to get some response but the autumn.

 

Hi Smoo,

At the moment we are having problems with our drains because of Leylandii root damage. My neighbours hedge is 14ft high and only 6ft from our drains. Hopefully your place being a new build your drainage won't be clay pipes, which are porous and therefore suffer root invasion (looking for water). We are claiming on our house insurance for replacement pipes.

It would be worth checking out your situation not only with your insurers but your local authority aswell, they might be able to advise you on getting these removed. If they are 'topped' the roots are likely to spread even further.

Good luck and let us all know how you get on. :thumb: