Tree felling boundary line

MyUnicornWorld

My garden backs to a secondary school. There were trees along the boundary wall (on school side). They offered great privacy. This morning most of them were chopped down. I was not notified. One tree remains but branches were trimmed from that so just branch stumps remain. It looks awful. All the privacy in my garden is gone. Looking out at the trees always gave me a lovely boost. I loved to sit in the garden and watch the birds. Now I can see a carpark. I am devastated. Should I have been notified of this? I thought that trees were not allowed to be felled at this time of year?

emo72

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058346206/tree-felling-boundary-line

no they can do what they want, its on their side. all you can do is plant trees on your side, but theres maintenence involved for you then.

Smee_Again

If the wall is the boundary and the tress are on other side of the it then the trees aren't the boundary.

Similar thing happened to me, lovely trees about 6 feet back from the boundary with a lot a song birds were trimmed about 2 years ago and the birds haven't been back since.

MyUnicornWorld

It's devastating. They were planted along the boundary wall, not in my property but branches came into my garden.

Shocking that no permission is needed to cut down trees.

kabakuyu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122005866#Comment_122005866

Even more shocking that the school authorities would allow this to happen(I assume tress were on school property) bad example for the students.I would highlight it to the local press and maybe some new trees can be planted.

Del2005

Here are the rules for cutting down trees without a felling licence. If it doesn't meet these criteria the felling was illegal, only problem is that it'll be long time before any new trees provide privacy.

Felling of trees - exempted trees

Here are some common scenarios where trees can be felled without the need to submit a tree felling licence application under Section 19 of the Forestry Act, 2014:

A tree in an urban area. An urban area is an area that comprised a city, town or borough specified in Part 2 of Schedule 5 and in Schedule 6 of the Local Government Act 2001 before the enactment of the Local Government Reform Act 2014.

A tree within 30 metres of a building (other than a wall or temporary structure), but excluding any building built after the trees were planted.

A tree less than five years of age that came about through natural regeneration and removed from a field as part of the normal maintenance of agricultural land (but not where the tree is standing in a hedgerow).

A tree uprooted in a nursery for the purpose of transplantation.

A tree of the willow or poplar species planted and maintained solely for fuel under a short rotation coppice.

Trees outside a forest – within 10 metres of a public road and which, in the opinion of the owner (being an opinion formed on reasonable grounds), is dangerous to persons using the public road on account of its age or condition.

Trees outside a forest – the removal of which is specified in a grant of planning permission.

Trees outside a forest – of the hawthorn or blackthorn species.

Trees outside a forest – in a hedgerow and felled for the purposes of its trimming, provided that the tree does not exceed 20 centimetres in diameter when measured 1.3 metres from the ground.

• It does not form part of a decorative avenue or ring of treesIts volume does not exceed 3 cubic metres, andThat the removal of it, by the owner for the foregoing purpose, when taken together with the removal of other such trees by the owner for that purpose, would not result in the total volume of trees, on that holding and removed by the owner for that purpose, exceeds 15 cubic metres in any period of 12 months.

This exemption does not apply in the case of a tree:

Within the curtilage or attendant grounds of a protected structure under Chapter 1 of Part IV of the Planning and Development Act of 2000 (Act of 2000)

Within an area subject to a special amenity area order

Within a landscape conservation area under section 204 of the Act of 2000

That is more than 150 years old;

• A monument or place recorded under section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994A historic monument or archaeological area entered in the Register of Historic Monuments under section 5 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1987A national monument in the ownership or guardianship of the Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 1994A European Site or a Natural Heritage Area within the meaning of Regulation 2(1) of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 477 of 2011)

https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/forestry/advice/general-topics/felling-of-trees---legal-requirements/#d.en.59882

MyUnicornWorld

I guess as I live in a town it would be considered an urban area so exempt. Surely trees in urban areas should be protected, there are so few of them and they are so beneficial.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand

the big question…. What sort of trees were they? Deciduous or the dreaded evergreen leylandii ?

Op, if the wall is the boundary separating your property from the school’s, and the trees are inside the wall on their side, the trees are their property, not along the boundary wall. Their property, therefore I can’t see why they would need your permission to remove them.

Jim_Hodge

The trees are theirs, not yours. Plant trees on your side if you want trees. I'm sure there's a perfectly valid reason why the school went to the bother and expense of cutting the trees.

MyUnicornWorld

There is no need fo the rude responses here.

I completely understand they are not on my property. I hope there is a valid reason for their removal.

Notification in advance would be appreciated as this has hugely impacted the enjoyment of my garden.

Yes I will of course plant trees on my side but as these were mature trees it will be a very long time before I have the same privacy as before.

These trees were a habitat to birds and squirrels. My children loved watching these.

We are so lacking in trees in our urban areas and I think they are often felled without any consideration.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122009303#Comment_122009303

You asked if you should have been notified, and seemed to be saying that the trees were along the boundary. Op’s often feel slighted when they don’t get the response/affirmation they were looking for, when in fact all they got was the truth.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122009303#Comment_122009303

What was rude? You just didn't get the response you wanted. You had a very strange reaction to somebody cutting their own tress, for their own reasons. Why on earth would they notify anybody, or everybody, who had a view of the trees? Trees, unfortunately, are being felled all over urban and rural areas for a multitude of reasons from Ash Dieback disease, to safety issues, to clearance for construction. As said, a school has finite resources and wouldn't go to the considerable expense of felling, or hard pruning, mature trees just for the heck of it.

witnessmenow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122009952#Comment_122009952

Why on earth would they notify anybody

Well in fairness, the courteous thing would be to say it to a direct neighbour.

When we moved into our house we ended up cutting down evergreen trees on our side of a wall, we let the neighbour know that we planned to do it ahead of time and that we planned to put a fence up instead. Ended up actually being a nice ice breaker as we get on well with them now.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122010038#Comment_122010038

What would the op’s response have been if notified in advance? That should tell you why they moved ahead once the decision was made to remove the trees.

witnessmenow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122010052#Comment_122010052

I don't know what the ops response would be, can't imagine it would have been positive, but there might have been some more understanding to why etc. (upkeep was too expensive, roots were causing issue, was an insurance concern, don't like the look of them, whatever other reason)

I just don't see an issue giving someone a heads up that your about to make a change. I'm not saying they needed to get ops permission, they can do what they like. But I'm sure they didn't wake up one day and decide to take down the trees

If privacy is a concern for the op, the op could have started the ball rolling on getting a fence put in if they had advanced notice. I probably wouldn't enjoy having a school yard looking directly into my back garden unobstructed either.

With the current state of things there is probably a bad relationship at least from the ops side to the school now and it could have potentially been avoided with a heads up

MyUnicornWorld

I feel it would be common courtesy to be informed if trees are due to be chopped down which will directly affect your property. Of course I would not expect everybody who can see the trees to be informed!

When these trees were being chopping down branches fell into my garden and on top of my shed. My children could have been outside playing or someone may have been in the shed.

There is a low boundary wall between my property and the school. Had I been informed in advance I could have put up a higher fence and done some planting. Right now all the students walking along the path before and after school can see right into my garden and into my house.

I understand if they were removed for safety reasons or rot etc. The safety of everyone walking along the path is obviously a priority. However I was not informed, I do not know the reasons. The first I knew about it was when I looked out my window and saw them all being chopped down.

Put up a higher fence, and do some planting.

MyUnicornWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122010673#Comment_122010673

As stated above it would have been nice to be notified in advance so I could have this done by now!!

COH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122010682#Comment_122010682

Apt username given that you seem to be living in dreamland 🙄

MyUnicornWorld

Well I would certainly notify my neighbour if I was cutting down trees on my land which hugely impacted them. I would call that common courtesy and if I live in a dreamland I am glad that I do.

sliabh 1956

MYW I know exactly how you feel I had the same experience in my previous house and it was one of the reasons we moved but in my case it was easier to move as we were downsizing. At the moment we are well protected , but one never knows as previous posters have said if the trees are not in your land you have little or no power to influence what decisions your neighbours make. As i said i know how you feel. One morning I left to go to town when I came returned i was met with a bomb site trees and ditches all removed . Mrs Sliabh and myself just stood there and gaped at the the scene. The fact that there was such privacy was one of the reasons we bought the house in the first place.

endofrainbow

I WISH my neighbour would cut down their tree - it's an eyesore.

C3PO

Funny …. my brother has the opposite problem with huge trees in an adjoining property seriously reducing the light in his house! Not a lot he can do!

GloriaBog

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122009303#Comment_122009303

I sympathise wholeheartedly with you and what a terrible thing to happen. The school were extremely rude not to even consult with you or other neighbours before doing this. Our local schools have Green Programmes and the children and classes get green badges. This is awful.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018574#Comment_122018574

There is no upside to the school notifying the op, why would they need to consult? The potential is there for the op to become upset, which seems a distinct possibility, and start being awkward about the trees being cut down. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018574#Comment_122018574

How many properties abut the school? How many properties have the trees as part of their view? It would be totally impractical. I had to fell a tree due to disease last year. I wasn't going down the road to a neighbour to explain the need just because they looked across fields at what was once a fine tree.

MyUnicornWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018776#Comment_122018776

Just myself and one other house impacted directly.

With respect I think cutting down a tree a few fields away is completely different. I would not expect to be notified in that instance either!

MyUnicornWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122018715#Comment_122018715

Goodwill! Common courtesy!

Your attitude is disgraceful and does not make for positive long term relations.

893bet

They are a school not a neighbour. It’s not the same.

You have no right to privacy. Being notified would made no difference other than you potentially trying to stop them. Be responsible for your own privacy.

MyUnicornWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122019771#Comment_122019771

Being a school they have a greater responsibility than a neighbour!

BorneTobyWilde

https://youtu.be/hEkZk8dagzQ?feature=shared&t=65

A lot of trees that are chopped down, could be transplanted. You'd pay over a grand for a small tree in a nursery , a mature tree thousands.

BorneTobyWilde

https://youtu.be/wkaAJbOZTjw?feature=shared&t=109

..

893bet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122020407#Comment_122020407

No. no they don’t.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122020407#Comment_122020407

Would you give over? Responsibility to their students and staff, yes. They don't have a greater responsibility to alert you to works being done on their property.

MyUnicornWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122020881#Comment_122020881

Of course they do!

MyUnicornWorld

Actually they do. Just because they have a responsibility to their students and staff does not mean they do not have a responsibility to their local community. Things are not so black and white as you seem to believe. Despite the safety implication of branches falling on my property it is a common courtesy. By dismissing this you are demonstrating the type of person you are.

Smee_Again

I wonder if the BOM/Principal knows the OP or has had previous dealings and knew informing them would be a pain so just didn't (not that they have any obligation or duty to anyway).

MyUnicornWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021654#Comment_122021654

No the BOM or principal does not know me at all and I have no history of objecting to anything. I am sure they have a good reason for cutting down these trees (safety etc) and this is something I would have accepted.

However I do feel I should have been notified as I have been impacted so directly.

Is anyone now surprised when people just go ahead and cut down their own trees?

Ted222

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022014#Comment_122022014

That’s exactly what I was thinking.

Why would you bother informing someone out of courtesy if it’s interpreted as an existential threat.

MyUnicornWorld

Sadly its not surprising but hardly viewed as an existential threat by most people.

I am just going to leave it here as its getting a bit out of hand and people seem to have their own issues.

It would have been the right thing to notify me. Sadly I wasn't notified. Its not great but not the end of the world.

Smee_Again

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021830#Comment_122021830

They don't even need a good reason.

And you've barely been impacted. Trees you don't own or maintain, on someone else's property were trimmed and you're acting like you're some sort of victim.

Your privacy is not the school's problem. Your previous enjoyment of the view is not the school's problem. Your view of a car park is not the school's problem.

awec

OP - you don't need to buy trees as tiny saplings and wait for them to grow, you can buy them when they're already quite mature I think.

Won't be cheap but it's an option if you want the same view back relatively quickly.

893bet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122021050#Comment_122021050

You are inventing responsibilities.

If they decided to repaint the school should they tell you? It technically impacts you are you can see it?

(and the type of person I am is one that minds my own business and maintains my own property).

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122010673#Comment_122010673

Sure, today is the second best day to plant a tree you need!

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122020487#Comment_122020487

does anyone in ireland offer the service though? i've never seen one of those machines here.

and yes, it's a terrible pity the trees were chopped down, but outside of statutory obligations around felling trees (which almost certainly don't apply here) there's no requirement to inform you.

still wondering what sort of trees they were though.

awec

If they were Leylandii then we should all celebrate their demise.

endacl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022014#Comment_122022014

I cut down several here in the back garden a few weeks ago. Apologies. I didn’t think to ask ye all here.

magicbastarder

yeah, i chopped down two leylandii hedges, totalling about 70 foot long (along boundaries with neighbours, as it happens) but never gave any thought to informing them first. i know the neighbour beside me was happy about it, thankfully.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022310#Comment_122022310

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022326#Comment_122022326

It really helps when you read the thread.