A Sheffield couple complained about the next-door fir tree that was overhanging their own driveway. They said pigeons were nesting in it, making a lot of noise and crapping on their car.
The adjacent family refused to have the tree either pruned or removed, so the fed-up neighbours got a tree surgeon to cut down the half of the tree that was over their driveway.
Not surprisingly, the other family were outraged, though there's little they can do as the law allows you to cut down overhanging tree branches. But the tree now looks pretty weird and naturally attracts a lot of comment.
What would I have done if I was the fed-up couple, I wonder? I can see their point about crapping pigeons, as pigeons often crap in our back garden. But abruptly cutting down half the tree is a rather drastic and aggressive solution.
I might have suggested cutting down the offending tree and planting a new tree well away from my own driveway. There are fast growing trees like eucalyptus that would look fine in a few years. But clearly the family for some reason are very attached to the fir tree.
Surely they knew that fir trees are potentially very large trees that can reach 262 feet (80 metres) and were likely to overhang the neighbours' property sooner or later? So why plant one in that unsuitable spot?
And how come there are no pigeons nesting in the remaining half of the tree?
Pic: the offending tree
This is the funniest story that I have read coming out of Britain of all places! All strength to the cutters.
ReplyDeleteRamana: Most neighbours seem to resolve their differences quite easily, but every so often there's news of some absurd and long-standing row that neither side are able to resolve.
DeleteWell, that's one way to solve the problem. I like your solution better, though.
ReplyDeleteColette: Chopping down half the tree was quite belligerent. Replacing it would be simple enough but the owners seem intransigent on the matter.
DeleteWe see trees that have been "pruned" by the power companies into very odd shapes below and next to electric power lines. I often wonder that landowners don't remove them, though I guess in some instances that it could be quite expensive. We have one side of our property that is under a line and had one tree that had been pruned that way. I cut it down.
ReplyDeleteMike: Indeed, large mature trees can be very expensive to cut down. But I guess that tiny fir tree could be chopped down pretty easily.
DeleteOur neighbor has a HUGE sycamore tree that drives us nuts. Every single day, it loses branches and leaves that fall onto our lawn and I’m constantly out there picking up the mess. Apparently, he had a feud with the original owners of our house over the tree. I’m sure the reason he won’t get it cut down is that it would cost over $5000.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: That sycamore tree sounds like a big problem. It would drive me nuts too. But yes, a $5000 fee (£3600) to dispose of it is a big deterrent.
DeleteIt looks like a hedgehog on a pole.
ReplyDeletePeople, eh?
Sx
Ms Scarlet: You're right, it looks like a hedgehog. Or a very shaggy dog.
DeleteHere is Costa Rica tree cutting generally needs permission from the environment ministry....so down the road from us a large tree continually sheds branches which bring down the 'phone and electricity lines. If the thing falls, it will probably wreck the road and possibly the bridge which connects us to the town. But no way can it be felled or lopped. The offended neighbours would find themselves in court were the events to have taken place here.
ReplyDeleteFly: Wow, that's pretty bad if nobody is allowed to remove or lop it. As you say, one day it might collapse, and then who gets the blame?
DeleteI wonder what I might have done. I don't know.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: Tricky, isn't it? There's no obvious right answer to this one.
DeleteWell the tree is now a conversation piece. It's unfortunate when neighbors can't reach a peace. You don't have to like one another but you can compromise.
ReplyDeleteAnn: I wonder what the tree's owners will do now with the sheared-off tree? Will they leave it like that or chop it down?
DeleteI bet they leave it like that thinking it makes their neighbor look foolish without ever considering how it makes themselves look.
DeleteLinda: Yes, most people won't know why the tree was pruned, so they'll just assume whoever did it was nuts.
DeleteThat's actually kinda funny.
ReplyDeleteMary: There's a funny side to all this. But I doubt if any of those involved can see it. To them it's daggers drawn!
DeleteThis does seem to have been a drastic move on the part of those neighbors. If tensions were strained before this incident surely they have worsened. I liked your suggestion, Nick, and oerhapos even a smaller replacement bush?
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: Yes, I imagine the tree-pruning has only increased the tension between the two households. But there are no further updates on the dispute.
DeleteJust looking at it, I can see that the part overhanging the adjoining property has been cut, it happens all the time.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather see that than a tree which has obviously been poisoned, which is also a regular occurrence. You can usually tell by the sold sign out front
Kylie: I've never heard of trees being poisoned, except for one UK news report in July 2019 where a woman suspected her 200 year old sycamore tree was being poisoned by a neighbour.
DeleteTrees hanging over others property can be cut here, too. We have a full grown tree present when we purchased this house that has provided welcomed shade, apparently, by at least two owners of the house next door. Never had any complaints nor were we aware of any but minor trimming by neighbors. The last owner unbeknownst to us did cut off half the tree prior to selling his house I discovered some time later. The tree is large so now I wonder if the lop-sided weight will be a problem. Time will tell or maybe I better have a tree man look at it.
ReplyDeleteJoared: That's an advantage, that the tree provides welcome shade in hot weather. Yes, the lop-sided weight might be a problem eventually.
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