Please can you help,?

My neighbour has a large hawthorn tree in her garden ,it is pushing my fence forward,during the high wind the posts have broken so my husband is going to put up a new fence ,he has had a chat with the lady with the hawthorn and she said she would get it cut down ,half of the root is now in my garden and I would like her to remove the root also,as it will grow and push the fence down again ,any advice on this please,
Please can you help,?
She seems to be an ok neighbour and is doing as you ask, i would have a word with her about the root and if she starts an argument or refuses for what ever reason then i would get in touch with the citizens advice bureau and see what they advise
Reply:What a pity to cut down a mature tree that provides a nest site and food for birds. Is there no way that you could adapt the design of your fence to allow it to stay? If you used a post and rail fence, the tree and it's roots wont be a problem. Also, this type of fencing doesnt catch the wind.



Or possibly, plant some kind of hedge between your 2 gardens to act as a boundary instead. Then you would never have to worry about it blowing down again. I'm sure your neighbour doesnt want to cut down her tree but she sounds very accommodating. If it has to come down, please do not make her cut it down before the end of September as it is possible that birds may have started nesting there already.
Reply:Once the tree is dead, the roots will stop growing. If you're concerned that the roots will sucker (grow new trees) and keep growing, here's what I suggest:



The company that removes the tree will likely grind the stump, down to a level just below the soil surface, to allow for grass seeding. Your neighbor can also request that they grind roots; some companies can grind to a depth of 18". I would offer to share the cost of this extra labor, or pay the extra outright. It won't be a huge amount.



Good luck!
Reply:yeah. you need a big saw
Reply:man that is some serious trouble, i say make sure she uproots the whole thing! not just cut it, that is no good, roots can regrow.

i don't know much about this but that is 1 of the things i do know.
Reply:The root of the tree unfortunately belongs to you since it is growing in your yard. You may want to offer to share some of the cost with the neighbor to remove the tree entirely otherwise you may be out of luck.
Reply:You don't need to remove the root.Just cut it down as low as poss,and poison it the fence panel can rest on the top of the stump
Reply:I suppose you could point out to her that the root is likely to cause problems in the future and ask her if she would agree to have the root removed. Perhaps it might be possible to dig as much of the root up and the tree could be planted somewhere else in her garden.
Reply:Dig up the root on your side of the fence and give it to her, it is her property. The same with any overhanging branches that you chop off.

If she doesn't accept that you will help financially get a solicitor to write to her and ask for damages.
Reply:It does not matter if the root is in your garden, the root belongs to her as it is her tree so i wouldn't go cutting it down in a rush. My advice would be to have another friendly chat about it and tel her you would like to do your fence asap so could she please cut it away from your garden. If she is okay with it, you could go and cut it down for her if she agrees, I'm sure she will be happy to not have to do it herself which will make it easier and quicker for you.
Reply:Oh dear - neighbours and trees - what a pain in the a*se. This is always a really delicate situation I think. It sounds like your husband has done a good job with the chat he had with her as she seems to have responded favourably to him. Would it be possible for him to mention about the roots and if she is agreeable could your husband offer to dig them out?



If you want to know where you stand legally with this before entering into negotiations with your neighbour you could ring a local solicitor to ask them for advice. Most solicitors offices offer a service whereby they will answer such questions for free in the hope that if the situation goes any further you will ask them to send a letter on your behalf which you will have to pay for. This is a simple query at this point and probably has a straight forward legal answer I would imagine so you wouldn't need to ring a fancy solicitor's practice with fancy offices and overheads - I would just use a small local practice. If you have ever bought a house and used a solicitor for conveyancing you could ring the same one cos at least you've had some previous dealings with them. It is always a good idea to try to build up a working relationship with a solicitor by getting a will done or whatever. I did this years ago and now whenever I have any questions I ring my solicitor and he or somebody else in the practice answers my questions free of charge. You never know when you may need the services of a solicitor so this could be your chance to start building up a working relationship with one. Good Luck with the neighbour
Reply:tell her to hurry up.
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