Chopping down trees you don't own on land you don't own

Delete your post.

And do the same. 🙂

Delete your post.

I used to work with an ex-copper. His favorite expression was, " A secret is something only one person knows."

See, if the coal authority denies ownership and it's not recorded on land registry, and you are thorough in trying to find the owner I beleive you can fence it, put some signs up with your contact details, and treat it as your own (you've got to use it, you can't just leave it as forest or a scrub) After the correct time as passed, you can apply to own it.

Most former NCB land was transferred to Harworth Estates, so they might be the people to contact. A mate used to work for them.

I had a neighbour that did this - there was some ‘unused’ land at the end of his and his neighbour’s gardens backing onto a stream, they both moved their back fences back about 30ft. When a developer finally came around to purchasing the land over a decade later there were able to command a generous price.

If it's common land things may be more complicated than that.

If it’s common land things may be more complicated than that.

For starters you have  to rent a flat above a shop, cut your hair and get a job, smoke some fags and play some pool and pretend you never went to school.

even with those clear instructions, still you'll never get it right

Did the neighbour inspect the trees for birds and bats before removing?

@Houns probably not.

50 m2 of trees felled by the neighbours might be an issue for them. Leaving aside any 'site specifics' such as ownership, designations and protections for species in that area, I would think the starting point would also be a yes/no on the need for a felling licence. 5 cubic metres of wood is a threshold, I think.
Felling Licence .gov link

Thing is, was it 'trees' or was it more 'scrub'. Latter might be much easier for them to swing it. If it was decent trees they'd obliterated, I'd personally be very much distancing myself from the neighbour's plans!

More trees than scrub, this was from about 3 weeks ago after I trimmed branches back.

You'll wish you hadn't chopped them down when a developer arrives and builds a load of ugly boxes. Why not just put a gate in your fence and let the kids play in there?

Land isn't flat at the back apart from the first couple of feet - it slopes up about 10ft.

More to the point is that a Giga 29 Carbon and do you like it?

@andlylc Mega 290 carbon - I bloody love it!

@andylc Mega 290 carbon - I bloody love it!

For starters you have  to rent a flat above a shop, cut your hair and get a job, smoke some fags and play some pool and pretend you never went to school.

Well done!

Land isn’t flat at the back apart from the first couple of feet – it slopes up about 10ft.

My garden slopes up about 30'.
Best. Play. Area. Ever.

Thanks - Mega or Giga Carbon 29 is top of my list to replace my Norco Range, although given my advanced years the new Trek Fuel EXe has recently been shouting from the sidelines….

On subject I might consider doing what your neighbour has done but only if I had researched it to death and determined that there was no current registered landowner traceable anywhere, and no preservation orders of any kind. In fairness I think TPOs relate to pretty large individual trees.

The slope is nice and gentle, so you’ll never watch your life slide out of view….

Tyre logo/valve lineup excellent but the seatposts? How do you sleep at night? :o)

Not just large trees for tpos...we are on a boundary of a conservation area (boundary runs 2 foot outside the front garden and we are inside. We had 3 trees on front garden and we've 4 in back garden - front trees were a decent size but dead - we couldn't remove them as they had tpos on them...council finally came out after 5 years of asking and agreed as they were dead they could be removed - but garden ones now get checked yearly to make sure they are still there.
The row of 7 large trees right behind our garden get trimmed every 15 years - they end up scalped and very narrow but they all seem to grow back.
So definitely check if any tpos are in place as if they are you could be in a world of expense if they do get chopped unofficially.

I’d do a land registry check then a check for any TPOs and go from there. Have you checked your deeds etc to see if your fence is in the right place?

The neighbouring flats to me cut down 20 msture trees. The were forced to replace them with mature trees. Cost them tens of thousands

Tpos can cover an area of trees. More than 5m3 of timber felled is “illegal felling” and is a breach of the forestry act. You could go to court and end up with the expense of restocking with new trees/ making sure they establish.

There is a database of registered commons you could check to see if it is common land.

Downstairs neighbour has a weeping ash (which blocks our dining room window and is stretching phone lines) of which about 50% of it's canopy is dead. It has a tpo. What does the panel suggest?

We'd get a "better" view if it weren't there but I don't mind it as it is.

Downstairs neighbour has a weeping Ash....
It has a tpo. What does the panel suggest?

How much do you like your neighbour?

So far as the OP goes, I can see your neighbour ending up with a big problem. The chances that won't be noticed by someone - probably lives a mile away and "walks" their dog there - and who then reports it to the council are slim if my own experience is anything to go by.

@dangeourbrain It'll get noticed when whoever the 'correct' party to sort out the trees over my fence turn up......

If the tree is dead and stretching phone lines, then the council should come out and inspect it - phone company should also be able to confirm likely damage/issues. Hopefully it won't be long before the council then agree to allow the dead part of the tree to be removed or they will agree the whole thing can be removed. The removal is done at the owner's cost though...which could be the main reason for nothing being done about it as it won't be cheap.

I'd drop the fence and enjoy it! Maybe even put a new one up like your neighbour.

If no one is looking after it then use it!

One day they might want it back, and if they do just reinstate the fence.

Next door to us did something similar, when advertised the house for sale there was a note that 1/3 of the garden was not theirs. The agent pointed out the boundary to viewers. The fence never went back up

@Davesport

Tyre logo/valve lineup excellent but the seatposts? How do you sleep at night? :o)

Never sure if saddle should be up or down - so I did both!

“If no one is looking after it ….” Places that aren’t gardens don’t need managing like they are gardens.

We get this at work - the “your wood looks unsightly next to my garden can you clear the scrub and plant some grass?” Also we get lots of folk “claiming” our land by moving fences/ felling trees etc. We have a guy who’s job it is to deal with this stuff it’s so common.

So just an update on this.
Had a response back from the Coal Authority - apparently the strip directly behind the fence isn't theirs.......

Thank you for your email.

I have undertaken a search of our property terrier and can advise that the land tinted green on the plan below is the land within the ownership of the Coal Authority.

The Land directly behind your property is within the title SF481394, however this land is not in the ownership of The Coal Authority. The strip of land that is not tinted pink and is therefore not registered at Land Registry.

So my question is how can the land be part of a title but not registered with Land Registry?

How can I find out who has the title?

I have undertaken a search of our property terrier

Surely you'd use a border terrier to find out where one person's land starts and stops?

Go here:

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

and click the green 'search for a property'. You'll get an option to put in that title number above. You'll then see basic info, and have the option to buy the title register (details of the freeholder) and the option to buy the corresponding title plan. Only costs a few quid.

Questions:
Where are you ?
Do you live in a new-build estate?

On the the estate I live on (in Scotland), a strip of land adjoining the houses is owned by the land-owner (Stewart Milne, the house builder) and then transferred to another company for maintenance (Greenbelt).
It shows as Stewart Milne on the Land Register but all responsibility is with Greenbelt.
This transfer is common - and Greenbelt are also responsible for the landscaping on the estate.

Except it isn't as Stewart Milne have failed to transfer it and another adjoining land owner has fenced it off as their own.
And please don't ask who is responsible for the play park because nobody knows.

Cutting trees down without permission can result in a compulsory restock order. In Scotland this order is made by Scottish Forestry against the registered land owner.
I guess if the registered land owner was not responsible for cutting down the trees they could appeal - but hey.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/firm-told-plant-more-800-26417701

Thanks all, looks like it's owned by the original housing developer.

@StirlingCrispin I'm in Staffordshire.

A 30ft tree my son and his mates had made dens in all their lives was cut down by a neighbour’s uncle who has a sideline in logs. Down in April so full of nests. I reported it to the police and Angus council.Nothing happened.

Am I being dim or does the final sentence in their reply make no sense?

@Cougar I wasn't too sure about the last sentence. I took it to mean it wasn't theirs (Coal Authority) as it wasn't pink on their title.
Unless I read it wrong and it means it's not registered with the LR.....