Invader75

Not clay soil. Even with ground screws?

Update. Tree surgeon came round for a site visit. He thought planning could be tricky given the problem trees and recommended the best, and first, course of action is to speak to owners (with cakes/tea) of problem conifers and suggest removal and replacement with suitable hedging. Beech and Birch healthy but need slight trimming. Removal of hedges, stumps, re plant, trimming of beach & birch. C Just over £1000. Pricey or about right?

Ok, so the copper beach and birch are ok but might need some work? How do you think we should deal with the problem of the hedges? Old girl living on her own, not much involvement from her Son or granddaughter. The only contact we have is with odd job guy/gardner who hacked the thing back originally. We don't want to cause any bad feeling but ultimately, want the proposed annexe to get planning without having those horrible things looming over it and preventing much needed light.

You'd think. I guess unless they admit to it, which will prove hard given the ladies old age, the only way to proceed will be the local council?

Here's the offending tree/hedge. 0307 One's causing the issues. 0308 copper beach 0309 birch

Great. Thanks for that.

No offence to that neighbour, but she's on her own and on her last legs to put it bluntly. We did ask for her gardener to cut them back a year or so a go but they trimmed a few branches and left it looking worse. They're pretty tall. Taller than a standard 30's semi.

Many thanks guys. What a great forum! Already proving really useful and helpful! ??

With regard to the annoying cypressus trees at the back. Does anyone know of the legalities of them blocking out the sunlight to the garden? They already cause problems with it being in a lot of shade and grass not growing.

Ok, to my knowledge, the "Stop Digging" people deal with these kinds of issues so I think it was more to do with a safety issue with the branches hanging over the dwelling.

To add to this. We have a good relationship with neighbours either side. The one at the back is an old lady who seems to think the cypressus are lovely trees! They pretty much stop any light getting to the garden all year round. We're thinking obtain planning then deal with that problem as they're blocking out light.

Hi, thanks for the reply. It's going to be a granny annexe and separate from the house. This is a VERY quick rough look of the plot. I'd say the trees are the height of the house (1930's semi's) so fairly mature. Wondering if I need to contact a surveyor or a tree surgeon? Or, speak to neighbours first.

Hello folks, We're looking at building a timber frame annexe in our garden. Whilst we don't have many full grown large trees within the plot, our neighbours do either side and at the end. We're looking at using https://stop-digging.co.uk/ but were wondering what the best way to find out about condition of the trees and if it's safe to build potentially, underneath the branches. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers