Problem tree.

I would say it must belong to the council, if not to any of the houses.
I certainly wouldn't allow one person to pay for it and let others chip in if they saw fit!

If it bothers him to such an extent he should be the one to pay to get it removed.

You can't just cut down a tree that doesn't belong to you. It may even be subject to a preservation order (TPO) although hopefully the council will have checked that at least. You can be fined up to 20K for cutting down a tree which has a TPO.

Is it on public or private land? If the former, it's the council's responsibility. If it's private, ask HM Land Registry if the land is registered and who the owner is. If it's unregistered that presents more of a challenge.

hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk/2018/02/05/search-owner-unregistered-land/

My local council prevaricated for four years over who should pay for repairs to a dangerous stretch of pavement insisting it wasn't public land but they didn't know who the owners were. I made a couple of internet searches and discovered it belonged to a well-known corporation. I called the director responsible for corporate risk who was unware of the issue. She had it fixed within the week.

Oak trees are lovely. You are very lucky to have one. Offer to help raking up the leaves in the autumn? Otherwise don't contribute a bean towards the destruction of this living thing which was probably there long before the houses went up.

People can’t take it upon themselves to cut down a tree which isn’t theirs and no amount of neighbour nagging would make me fork out £1000 to remove a tree which wasn’t mine and which wasn’t causing me personally much of a problem.

My daughter had a problem tree just behind her boundary and a phone call to the Land Registry helped her identify the owner (open grassland) and resolve the problem.

I’d turn a deaf ear to the neighbours complaints other than pointing him towards the Land Registry and leave it to him to pursue any action.

I can't believe somebody wants to destroy an oak tree because leaves fall into his garden.

Ridiculous.

Get a rake!

No no no don’t give any money and don’t let the woman be bullied into paying to have it cut down

You can’t cut down a big tree just like that I had to get written permission sending description, photos etc for the tree in my garden and someone come to view it I hated cutting it down but it was so tall and so bendy (eucalyptus) in the wind that it was a danger to my house and my neighbours and £1000 is a huge amount I had two that grew from the same root and both were taller than my three storey house cut down for £340 a couple of years back it took two men 8 hours

I agree with jane10 you should not contribute to the cost of cutting down the tree because a) it’s not on your land and b) you don’t want it cut down anyway. Why is the lady behind you paying for it anyway, if it’s not her tree?

In your position I would get a properly qualified tree surgeon to have a look at it and advise. It may be possible to sympathetically prune it so that it looks less overpowering, if that’s part of the problem.
The tree surgeon would be able to advise whether the tree was healthy or diseased.

Personally I think it’s nothing short of vandalism to cut down a healthy oak tree.

I'd find out who owns the land and ask them to get a qualified tree surgeon, particularly if its the local authority.

I agree with those who say it's wrong to cut down a beautiful oak tree.
If it has to come down you'll need an experienced tree surgeon. Sounds as if it's in an inaccessible spot, and it will be a dangerous job. Branches etc in everyone's garden.
And how to dispose of the trunk and stump?
I would think it would cost more than £1k. We had 3-4 leylandi reduced in height and that cost £1k.

What Janea said ???

I too think that it is sacrilege to cut down a lovely old oak tree.
The tree must have been there when this neighbour bought his house, why should the tree have to die.
This makes me so angry.

Trees are vital to our planet and I would highly object to the thought of it being cut down for the sake of it shedding its leaves. What's wrong with folk ?

Your local authority may have a tree officer who might be abke to advise. Get in touch with any local ecology groups: Friends of the Earth, WWF , English Nature, Treecouncil. uk etc to offer support to save the tree.

Yes, trees do that - shed leaves in autumn. Blasted townies! Why doesn’t he just rake them up and compost them like others do instead of cutting down an innocent tree.

I certainly would NOT be contributing to this slaughter, instead I’d be climbing into the uppermost branches and staging a protest - after having alerted the local media if course.

A fine oak tree grows not far from the back of my house and I was shocked when I saw a man with a chain saw apparently attacking it. However, it turned out that he was a tree surgeon who trimmed it skilfully and re-shaped it so that it's now an even more beautiful tree. Perhaps a similar, less drastic, solution would enable the tree to survive the destructive intentions of your neighbour. A tree surgeon would advise, though leaves will continue to fall!

What a silly, selfish man, and a bully to boot.
I think the lady should not be forking out £1000 to have the tree destroyed - I bet he’s laughing all the way to the bank.
As others say, it’s not on his or anyone else’s property as far as can be ascertained, so the lady could be fined a huge amount if it transpires the tree has a preservation order, although it sounds as if the Council hasn’t a clue about that, either. Unless it can be proved that the tree is causing damage with its roots, or is diseased and in danger of falling down possibly causing risk to life and property, then there is no way it should be destroyed just because some moron dislikes leaves falling in Autumn.

No! You can't cut an oak tree down. Sheer vandalism.

Now if it was the blessed sycamore next door to us, I would be the first to stump up (no pun intended) to get rid of the blessed thing. And all the seedlings from it that spring up all over everywhere in my garden in the Spring. Not to mention the sunlight the horrible thing blocks. Grrr.

Sorry for the double 'blesseds'

Cut down an Oak Tree ? No, no, no,no

Just to add my support for an oak tree!
Sometimes trees grow very large and need thinnng or pruning but if it's just that the leaves bother him. Really, I'm sad .
I have heard a woman with a leaf blower cursing an old chestnut tree. She was blaming this poor tree for making her life a misery!

Our council has an environment officer who would assess the tree and tell you if it's protected and put a TPO on it if it isn't.

I hate sycamores with a vengeance.

Personally I think it’s nothing short of vandalism to cut down a healthy oak tree.
Me too!
Let's hope the council put a TPO on it
Tell him to buy one of those leaf vacuums.

Sycamores can be like weeds Gonegirl - we did have to have one pollarded as it was rather unsafe but it's still there.

I wouldn't have any qualms if our neighbours behind us cut down the huge leylandii which is at the bottom of their garden

If the tree is likely to fall on someone's house, that is one thing.

If it is just producing a lot of leaves, I don't think it necessarily needs to come down. Could you help your neighbour rake up the leaves? It's not something that happens all year round and, in the end, the worms eat the leaves.