FenTiger

Just back from visiting our new house and take notes of a few things we need to sort out. Also check measurements of two of the rooms so we can plan where our furniture, TV, etc. will go.
Anyway, I realised there were two trees on the grass verge and one blocks access to the garage. I'm hoping to have a drive-over the culvert and a car port in front of the garage as it's a bit of a squeeze for my car. Anyway, the owner said the two cherry trees belong to a neighbour on one side. There was no mention of this when we signed the contract. I would have preferred to have been told this before we signed the contract. Back in the UK we had enough problems with one neighbour "invading" our space we don't want to get off to a bad start with the new neighbours. Anyway, I have been told the grass verge doesn't belong to the owner or neighbour so we'd be in the right to chop them down. The owner has said we can chop them down but .... we're feeling a bit awkward of any fall out with neighbours because they must have had alot of benefit from the yield of those cherry trees.
I'm not sure if I've explained the above clearly or I'm just worrying over nothing. It's my UK property experience which is making me nervous of history repeating itself.

FenTiger

I forgot to add we only got talking about the two trees on the grass verge because my wife was curious what they were. Hadn't she asked when the cherries were ready for picking we could have been picking them for ourselves. What would the neighbours reaction have been? I wouldn't be too impressed if they told us they were theirs!

Peter_in_Hungary

First thing is to find out on whos land the trees stand. Cherry trees or plum trees are often planted on the roadside verge and are generally used by the people whos house fronts on to that part of the verge but often the verge will be part of the highway and so owned by the road authority of the council. It is quite common for the roadside verge to be maintained by the house fronting the verge and sometimes there is a by-law requiring this maintenance - including snow clearance on the foot path in the winter -

So find out what is the local custom and who owns the land and go from there because the neighbour might say 'those trees are mine (by tradition ) but they may not own them, either way if the trees are overhanging your land then you can cut them back to the boundary but best to start out friendly. If neither of of you own the verge but the trees are causing an obstruction then talk to the land owner - probably the council.

If you have a garage then you should have vehicular access to that garage. Be careful about getting or asking for a culvert to be put in because if it is council land then the council can / will insist on a properly designed culvert complete with drawings and structural engineers calculations to show the required load bearing and construction details - Oh and probably suitably qualified builders to do the work. Generally the days when you put down 10 second hand railway sleepers across the ditch to get to your garage are - if it is council land - gone.

FenTiger

The two cherry trees are on land, grass verge, belonging to the council.
They were planted by the neighbours. The current owner doesn't use the garage. We want to put up a car port from the garage to gate/fence. One tree is blocking access so we will just remove it.
Sounds like a good idea to contact the council and mention a tree is blocking access to the garage.
The culvert is really just a deep dip, too deep for a vehicle so would need a drive-over similar to where there is vehicular access to the garden. Will ask the council about having something similar built. It will have to be approved by council or built by council approved builder.
We have emailed our estate agent friend about this. Hopefully he can suggest something. At the end of the day a tree belonging to a neighbour is blocking vehicular access to the garage but of course we need a drive-over built first. Seems strange the house has a garage but it cannot be accessed!

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Peter_in_Hungary

Is there a gate to access the garage? If not it could be argued that it was put up as a shed. Ask the previous owners about access to the garage to find out the history. If there is no gate and never was one then I suppose that the tree is not blocking an existing access but rather in the way of something that you want to do, a different situation. If the land belongs to the council then so does the tree but see my previous comments about local regulations regarding council verges. (The village in which my son lives requires him to maintain trees on the council verge in front of his house and also defines what type of fences and gates can be put up.

IMO time to talk to the previous owners and the council - then the neighbour who will probably be upset if/when you remove the tree.

FenTiger

Yes, there is a gate.
Around the village I see alot of trees planted on the grass verge but not all grass verges. A couple of properties where there is a grass verge opposite but no houses, just unused land, the owners have planted fruit trees and park their cars there too. There's a house just around the corner which has been the lone house until recently and the owners had mown the grass along the side of one fence and planted a couple of fruit trees. Someone just bought the plot so those fruit trees have been chopped down.
We are waiting for our estate agent friend to get back to us. He's been very helpful and has invited us to see what he has done to his house and a weekend house.

JBinhungary

Interesting, we were just having the tree conversation today. We have trees, bordering our back field, in an L shape as there is village land on one side and a street on the short L bit.. I want the trees down to about 6 foot as many are about 15/20 now & blocking the sun off the crops. Also the bottom ones have electric wires/ phone running through them. Am I right in thinking we can cut them down & that if there is problem with the wires, then we would be in bother?

Jack_Russells4ever

Respectfully before you go cutting down or severely pruning trees you may want to speak with the local village Polgarmeister because in some areas trees are protected and cutting one down without approval can result in an expensive penalty. The Polgarmeister can let you know if permission is required and who can give permission. I need to cut down a tall tree in my garden growing into power lines. I asked the Polgarmeister in this village and was given permission to have the tree taken down. I have not taken it down yet because the old structure it stands next to still remains to be taken apart.

Peter_in_Hungary

You need to talk to the land owner. You can't cut trees if they are on someone else land. You also need to find out it the wires are electric or phone (or tv etc.) If they are electric wires then the land owner has the duty to keep the trees clear of the lines. If the owner doesn't then the electric co. will cut the trees for free to the prescribed height and distance to clear the lines. I don't know the rules about other wires. As far as I know there is no right to cut or prune someone elses trees that are not overhanging your boundary unless you can show they are dangerous. Blocking sunlight is not enough of a reason.

FenTiger

Nearly a week has gone and we're still waiting on the cherry trees. I hope I'm not reading too much into why it's taking this long to respond. We just need a straight forward answer.

FenTiger

We have had a reply from the sellers estate agent. She said that we would need a permit to cut them down. She also mentioned they were planted by the council which seems a little strange as one is blocking the gates to the garage! So now we are very confused why the seller told us the trees belong to the neighbour! This does not make sense.
I think we will ask the solicitor to sort it out.

JBinhungary

The trees are ours exclusively. They have been just let grow for years. It is common village land on the other side, that is maintained by the local work crew. The wires are a mix of electric & phone from what we can see & have been told.

FenTiger

Good news - the sellers estate agent phoned the mayor's office about the cherry trees. His response was the seeds came from his office and they belonged to the property in front of them.
My estate agent friend and solicitor were of the opinion we'd be perfectly entitled to cut them down. We might only cut down the one blocking the garage gates. We hope to cut that one down before we move our stuff in to avoid a tripping hazard if to try access the garage another way!
Anyway, I'm happy about the outcome.
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Peter_in_Hungary

Get something in writing that you own the trees (which goes along with the right to cut one or both down). A note from the council would do.

FenTiger

My wife had planned to go down to the mayor's office to ask about this but she's out of action due to minor op on one of her feet to remove a thorn. The estate agent friend is visiting today. We'll check with him and if says we should be okay we might leave it there. The sellers estate agent works for same company but they are more acquaintances. We have, as mentioned, checked with our solicitor.