Trees and Neighbours in Cumbria — Your Rights, Their Rights and How to Avoid a Dispute

June 23, 2026

In our experience, tree disputes between neighbours are one of the most emotionally charged situations we encounter in this work. What often starts as a practical issue, a branch overhanging a garden, roots lifting a driveway or a large tree blocking light, can escalate quickly into something much more entrenched. We are occasionally called in to carry out work in situations where neighbours have not spoken civilly for months.

It does not need to be that way. Understanding the legal position clearly, and approaching the conversation with a neighbour before it becomes a dispute, resolves the vast majority of these situations without drama. This is our guide to the subject, written from experience of dealing with these situations regularly across South Lakeland, Kendal, the Cartmel Peninsula and North Lancashire.

What You Can Do to a Neighbour's Tree Without Permission

You have a common law right to cut back any branches or roots from a neighbour's tree that cross the boundary into your property, up to the boundary line. You do not need your neighbour's permission to do this. However, there are important limits and obligations:

You can only cut to the boundary, not beyond it
The cut material remains the legal property of the tree's owner. You must offer it back to your neighbour. You cannot dispose of it without first offering it, and you cannot charge your neighbour for the cost of cutting it back
You cannot enter your neighbour's land to carry out this work without their permission
If the tree has a Tree Preservation Order, the right to cut back to the boundary is restricted. You should check with the local planning authority before carrying out any work on a TPO tree, even on your side of the boundary
You must not carry out work that would damage the health of the tree or constitute criminal damage

In practice, for anything beyond a straightforward garden trim of small overhanging branches, we would always recommend speaking to your neighbour first. It is invariably better to carry out the work jointly, with both parties agreeing on what needs doing and who bears the cost, than to exercise your legal right unilaterally and create lasting ill will.

What You Cannot Do

You cannot enter your neighbour's land to carry out tree work without their permission, even if branches are overhanging your property
You cannot cut the tree further back than the boundary line, even if you think it would look better or grow back less vigorously
You cannot demand that your neighbour removes or reduces a tree simply because it shades your garden, drops leaves on your lawn or you personally dislike it. There is no legal right to light in English law, with very limited exceptions that do not generally apply to garden trees
You cannot cut roots on your neighbour's side of the boundary without their permission
You cannot apply herbicide to a neighbour's tree, even if it is overhanging your property. This would constitute criminal damage

Trees on the Boundary Itself

Trees growing exactly on a boundary line are a genuine legal complexity. If the trunk straddles the boundary, the tree is technically jointly owned by both neighbours, and neither can carry out significant work on it without the agreement of the other. In practice, disputes about boundary trees are best resolved by a direct, reasonable conversation between neighbours. If agreement cannot be reached, mediation is a far better route than litigation, which is slow, expensive and tends to damage the relationship permanently.

If you are dealing with a boundary tree dispute and are unsure of the legal position, a solicitor with property law experience is the right person to advise you.

The High Hedges Act

If your dispute is specifically about a neighbour's hedge rather than a tree, the High Hedges provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 may be relevant. This allows homeowners to complain to their local council about a hedge of two or more evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs that is over two metres tall and is adversely affecting the enjoyment of their home.

The council can issue a remedial notice requiring the neighbour to reduce the hedge. However, the council can charge a fee to investigate the complaint and the process is slow. Direct negotiation or mediation is almost always faster and cheaper.

Note that the High Hedges Act applies only to hedges, not to individual trees, and only to evergreen or semi-evergreen species. A row of deciduous trees forming a windbreak would not qualify.

How to Have the Conversation

Most neighbourly tree disputes start because one person feels the other is being unreasonable, and both feel that way simultaneously. A few practical suggestions from years of working in the middle of these situations:

Approach the conversation early, before frustration has built up. A politely worded note or a brief knock on the door when the issue first becomes apparent is far more likely to result in a productive conversation than a formal letter sent after months of seething
Be specific about the problem rather than making general complaints about the tree. The branches over the garage roof are dropping debris into the gutters is a solvable, specific problem. Your tree is far too big is not
Offer to share the cost of any necessary work, or to arrange and pay for it yourself if the work primarily benefits you. Most reasonable neighbours respond well to this
Ask us to come and give both neighbours a joint assessment and recommendation. Having an independent, qualified professional explain what work is appropriate and what is not frequently breaks a deadlock. We are happy to do this

When There is a Tree Preservation Order

Neighbourly tree disputes become more complicated when a TPO is involved, because neither neighbour can carry out significant work on the tree without council consent, regardless of whose land the trunk is on. In these situations, the council arboricultural officer becomes a third party in the discussion, and both neighbours need to work within whatever the planning authority will and will not permit.

If you have a disputed tree with a TPO and are unsure of the position, we can check the TPO status, advise on what works are likely to be consented and handle the application on your behalf. See our TPO advice page for more information.

Trees Blocking Light from Solar Panels

This is a growing issue as more properties across Cumbria install solar panels. There is no automatic legal right to have a neighbour's tree reduced because it is shading your panels. The same position on light applies as in any other situation. However, if you can demonstrate genuine loss of amenity and the neighbour is willing to discuss it, this is usually a resolvable situation through negotiation and cost-sharing. If the tree also has genuine arboricultural reasons for reduction or pruning, that strengthens any application for consent where a TPO is involved.

Get Independent Tree Advice in Cumbria

If you have a tree dispute with a neighbour and would like an independent, professional view of the situation, we are happy to visit and give a straightforward arboricultural assessment. We work across Grange-over-Sands, Kendal, Windermere, Ulverston, Cartmel, Lancaster, Kirkby Lonsdale, Barrow and all surrounding areas.

Phone/WhatsApp: 07376804724
Email: enquiries@maxreynoldstreeservices.com

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