Access issues

[Headless chicken]

Looking for some advice on the following.

The picture is very crude but basically. The house on the end of our lane has 1) a roof that sticks out into the highway and 2) was built straight but not square to the road. The red dots are trees which are all overgrown making the problem worse. The owner of which refuses to cut them and council refuse to get involved.

All this is meaning our access is getting harder to manage. After hitting the roof back in the spring I paid for it to be repaired and assured the owner that we’d no longer bring in artic curtainsiders which we haven’t done but refuse to stop bringing in artic lorries as they always used to come in and if we stop then the problem will just get worse until you can’t bring smaller lorries in.

When I was away the other week the house roof got hit by something. We were on silage but all the big gear travels across the contractors fields further up the lane. I asked everyone who came in if they had hit if all said no.

Owner is understanbly annoyed and I think blaming us for it. My issue here is that this is a public through road admirably not used much but still and not only feeds us but other people. I have supplied him with cctv to try and help the problem that he hasn’t fitted. I don’t want to fall out with him but in this instance I don’t believe it to be our fault.

Where do I stand? Where does this stop? What can I do going forward because this problem isn’t going to go away.

It’s worth noting the home owner wants to sell but keeps siting that we’re reducing his value. The farmer who owns the trees keeps the sheep there year round and stench is horrific. I suspect that the home owner is attempting to blame me for decrease in valuation when in fact the value isn’t there due to the tree owner

 

[Exfarmer]

Sadly there is nothing much you can do, on the other hand if the house owner cannot come up with evidence, there is little he can do too!
Friend of mine with access issues where a neighbours trees were a big issue and refused to do anything took his bushwacker to them. The neighbour was very upset but I dont think could do anything.
That would be my solution. The house owner will be very reluctant to take any legal action as this must be reported to a prospective purchaser and is very off putting. His insurance should cover it

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Cant you buy the corner of the field and widen it

 

[robs1]

If the roof overhangs the road then surely that's the issue and the council should make him deal with it and also the trees if they do too, just because they say they won't doesn't mean you cant make them.

 

[Electronic]

Who owns the track? If it is not public highway someone must own it and you (and others) have right of way across it. Check your deeds and see if it says anything about width. If you own it you have a right to cut the trees anyway.

If the trees overhang such as they cause you a problem you should have a right to cut them back. Don't leave it otherwise others will say track has always been narrow. Take legal advice if necessary, better to fall out with this person now than with new people once the house has been sold.

We had a not dissimilar problem some years ago over a right of way where neighbour tried to restrict it and we found the NFU to be very helpful.

 

[Highland Mule]

Could you not just give the address to every haulier and farmer in West Wales to go round and all drive it the same weekend? I'm sure that by the 100th artic of straw bales and manitou with wide bucket the trees would be suitably worn back to give space.

 

[Against_the_grain]

If the property is overhanging the public road and gets hit then that is his problem not yours.
If the trees are overhanging the public road then they have a responsibility to get them cut or the council can do it and in believe charge them for it. This is not your problem. What we have done in similar situations is jfdi and cut the overhanging branches. It's too late once it's done and so long as you have before and after pictures I cant see what he can do about it.

 

[Gordy1]

If it is a public through road then the Highways Dept. are responsible for it, has the highways ever done any maintenance on the road at all if so it means it has been adopted by them, even Byways ( green lanes) have the same rights as any other roads but these are usually low priority roads so don't get much maintenance, what does the ordinance survey tell you about it or even google maps, I reckon you should pressure the highways dept about maintaining the trees that overhang, telling them they are becoming a dangerous health & safety issue, that should get someone out in a hurry, tell them to call on you while they are there.

 

[HarryB97]

When they're at work in the day just go down with the forklft and chainsaw and limb off all the trees on the road side, no point relying on others especially the council as u'll be dead before they get involved

 

[milkloss]

If he really is trying to sell the house then you have the upper hand because any issues have to be reported to prospective buyers. Not a tool to use without good reason though.

 

[deleted user 837354]

Get some friends with tall/large vehicles to drive down there. Carefully so as not to cause any damage to the house, trees or their vehicles.

Then get them to write letters of complaint to the council/highways department about how they suffered minor damages from overhanging vegetation etc but they won't be claiming on insurance- this time. The more the merrier. The council will get upset because suddenly they are collecting letters from upset vehicle owners and potentially insurance companies who are generally out to skin any fudgeer.

The council will then write to the landowners/property owners assuming they own these trees and telling them to cut them back or they will do it and send the bill instead.

Mention to your house-owning friend that having an-going dispute on the records regarding their property will look bad to any potential buyers and invariably come up in any solicitor searches.

As a suggestion for further work offer to buy his house and so resolve the issue you are experiencing permanently. You need to add this house to your property collection because the new owners could invariably be a PITA as well. It will only take some fudging barrister or legal sort to take up residence and they will spend all day every day writing legal jargons to get the road reclassified or something.

 

[deleted user 837354]

If it is a public through road then the Highways Dept. are responsible for it, has the highways ever done any maintenance on the road at all if so it means it has been adopted by them, even Byways ( green lanes) have the same rights as any other roads but these are usually low priority roads so don't get much maintenance, what does the ordinance survey tell you about it or even google maps, I reckon you should pressure the highways dept about maintaining the trees that overhang, telling them they are becoming a dangerous health & safety issue, that should get someone out in a hurry, tell them to call on you while they are there.

Spot on, only the Highways will say the trees aren't their issue, but they will insist on the land owners either side to sort the trees or else.

I had that exact kind of letter sent to me last year only I did not own the land in question.

 

[TripleSix]

Do you me to come for a holiday with my chainsaw?

 

[Happy hillbily]

@Headless chicken if its a highways road, report access issues on www.fixmystreet.com, (its easy to do) the complaint gets sent to the correct department, then its offical, council can then ask the tree owners to remedy the problem or they can get contractors in to do the job and bill the tree owners. It does happen as a friend of mine who is a tree surgon has done a lot of work for various people on councils request.

 

[Bald Rick]

Get Trump to tweet the homeowner

“You suck”

That’ll sort it.

 

[linga]

its definitely public highway but getting our authority to do anything ( about anything) is like getting blood out of a stone.

 

[Headless chicken]

Sadly there is nothing much you can do, on the other hand if the house owner cannot come up with evidence, there is little he can do too!
Friend of mine with access issues where a neighbours trees were a big issue and refused to do anything took his bushwacker to them. The neighbour was very upset but I dont think could do anything.
That would be my solution. The house owner will be very reluctant to take any legal action as this must be reported to a prospective purchaser and is very off putting. His insurance should cover it

Sadly these trees are now huge hence the issue worsening as they grow wider every year and the bank they’re on not being suitable to hold them.

Cant you buy the corner of the field and widen it

Nope. Farmland owner won’t at all.

If the roof overhangs the road then surely that's the issue and the council should make him deal with it and also the trees if they do too, just because they say they won't doesn't mean you cant make them.

Overhangs maybe a stron word it certainly protrudes into the highway. His foundations are basically on the road which is another issue the owner says were ruining his foundations.

Who owns the track? If it is not public highway someone must own it and you (and others) have right of way across it. Check your deeds and see if it says anything about width. If you own it you have a right to cut the trees anyway.

If the trees overhang such as they cause you a problem you should have a right to cut them back. Don't leave it otherwise others will say track has always been narrow. Take legal advice if necessary, better to fall out with this person now than with new people once the house has been sold.

We had a not dissimilar problem some years ago over a right of way where neighbour tried to restrict it and we found the NFU to be very helpful.

The track is a public highway and the highways team maintain it. The issue is the farmer owns the hedges both sides apparently so it restricts what they can do apparently.
Think I might well give the NFU legal team a bell tomorrow and see their stance on it. My concern is what happens if it restricts access so much it stops me farming.

Could you not just give the address to every haulier and farmer in West Wales to go round and all drive it the same weekend? I'm sure that by the 100th artic of straw bales and manitou with wide bucket the trees would be suitably worn back to give space.

Tempting but suspect it will still get blamed on me!

F

If the property is overhanging the public road and gets hit then that is his problem not yours.
If the trees are overhanging the public road then they have a responsibility to get them cut or the council can do it and in believe charge them for it. This is not your problem. What we have done in similar situations is jfdi and cut the overhanging branches. It's too late once it's done and so long as you have before and after pictures I cant see what he can do about it.

We have cut a couple branches back which the home owner is happy with the farmer is not and it has the potential to cause a lot of hassle for us if we’re not 100% to the letter of the law. He is one of these sad times that doesn’t want anyone to do well in life.

If it is a public through road then the Highways Dept. are responsible for it, has the highways ever done any maintenance on the road at all if so it means it has been adopted by them, even Byways ( green lanes) have the same rights as any other roads but these are usually low priority roads so don't get much maintenance, what does the ordinance survey tell you about it or even google maps, I reckon you should pressure the highways dept about maintaining the trees that overhang, telling them they are becoming a dangerous health & safety issue, that should get someone out in a hurry, tell them to call on you while they are there.

Highways maintain the road and I have made contact in the past as the entrance is lethal. They said they’d speak to him but they have no money to chase so won’t risk doing the work. Also won’t touch the entrance until someone is killed or seriously injured.

Get some friends with tall/large vehicles to drive down there. Carefully so as not to cause any damage to the house, trees or their vehicles.

Then get them to write letters of complaint to the council/highways department about how they suffered minor damages from overhanging vegetation etc but they won't be claiming on insurance- this time. The more the merrier. The council will get upset because suddenly they are collecting letters from upset vehicle owners and potentially insurance companies who are generally out to skin any fudgeer.

The council will then write to the landowners/property owners assuming they own these trees and telling them to cut them back or they will do it and send the bill instead.

Mention to your house-owning friend that having an-going dispute on the records regarding their property will look bad to any potential buyers and invariably come up in any solicitor searches.

As a suggestion for further work offer to buy his house and so resolve the issue you are experiencing permanently. You need to add this house to your property collection because the new owners could invariably be a PITA as well. It will only take some fudging barrister or legal sort to take up residence and they will spend all day every day writing legal jargons to get the road reclassified or something.

Adding the house to our property is on the list within reason at all costs but besides the point I want this sorted before it has to get that far.

Do you me to come for a holiday with my chainsaw?

I’d love too! If I’m honest this has crossed my mind but I need to make sure I have no involvement what so ever. And we need to clear them all down to stumps in one single night.

@Headless chicken if its a highways road, report access issues on www.fixmystreet.com, (its easy to do) the complaint gets sent to the correct department, then its offical, council can then ask the tree owners to remedy the problem or they can get contractors in to do the job and bill the tree owners. It does happen as a friend of mine who is a tree surgon has done a lot of work for various people on councils request.

I have done and sadly the response is there are bigger fish to fry and no money to deal with the matter.

 

[Exfarmer]

Sadly these trees are now huge hence the issue worsening as they grow wider every year and the bank they’re on not being suitable to hold them.



Nope. Farmland owner won’t at all.



Overhangs maybe a stron word it certainly protrudes into the highway. His foundations are basically on the road which is another issue the owner says were ruining his foundations.



The track is a public highway and the highways team maintain it. The issue is the farmer owns the hedges both sides apparently so it restricts what they can do apparently.
Think I might well give the NFU legal team a bell tomorrow and see their stance on it. My concern is what happens if it restricts access so much it stops me farming.



Tempting but suspect it will still get blamed on me!

F


We have cut a couple branches back which the home owner is happy with the farmer is not and it has the potential to cause a lot of hassle for us if we’re not 100% to the letter of the law. He is one of these sad times that doesn’t want anyone to do well in life.



Highways maintain the road and I have made contact in the past as the entrance is lethal. They said they’d speak to him but they have no money to chase so won’t risk doing the work. Also won’t touch the entrance until someone is killed or seriously injured.



Adding the house to our property is on the list within reason at all costs but besides the point I want this sorted before it has to get that far.




I’d love too! If I’m honest this has crossed my mind but I need to make sure I have no involvement what so ever. And we need to clear them all down to stumps in one single night.



I have done and sadly the response is there are bigger fish to fry and no money to deal with the matter.

The road is certainly owned by the neighbouring landowner, but it is absolutely forbidden for him to do anything to block it. This includes neighbouring house owners parking on the highway..
Highways should jump on the neighbour and force him to stop obstructing forthwith

 

[TheTallGuy]

Maybe if a tree happened to fall over (or branch brake off) one stormy evening & damage a passing tractor that didn't in anyway contribute to the event occuring () the resulting insurance claim would focus the mind of the owner.... especially if you had documentation to show that you had already raised concerns with the landowner & highways authority!

 

[betweenthelines]

Everyone has a right to use the public highway. The local authority has the power (as Happy H said) to compel those adjacent landowners to ensure it is safe for the public to use. On a lane that you have access over, the owner of the lane has to maintain it in a reasonable condition-in effect this means that if 44t artics have been using the lane to access your premises for years, the lane owner cannot (by action or inaction) stop them continuing to do so. Several claims for vehicle damage (truck mirrors at £200+) might encourage the owner (or his insurers) to accept his responsibilities. Of course, there's always the Prince Philip option- a minor RTA at the T junction which resulted in Police attendance and questions about visibility etc. would concentrate everybody's minds