81 Upper Tollington Park, Hornsey, London, N4 4LP
I would like to remove the silver birch tree that is in our small garden. It is the only tree there. The tree is NOT subject to a TPO, but the house is in a conservation area, so we need permission. We have had (and used) permission from the council in the past to carry out crown reduction of this same tree (a silver birch), but the tree is getting bigger and thicker, and more problematical to deal with. This means that it is less attractive, and less silver than it used to be. But more importantly, and the reason for this application, its roots are starting to cause damage. I attach pictures of the damage that it has done to our garden wall. The tree is also reasonably close to Ednam House, which is a council owned block, and it is foreseeable that in the future it would cause damage or difficulty to those premises, which would of course, cause difficulties for the residents and, at least indirectly, the council. Also, since the tree has grown bigger, its foliage interferes with the light (which comes from the south up Florence Road and across Upper Tollington Park, which will mean that many of the flats in Ednam House are overshadowed by tree foliage and gloomier than the residents might wish. We are also very close to the Parkland Walk, and there are trees on Florence Road, so the utility of this tree is less than it might be in a less arboreal neighbourhood. For that reason, although we have tried to look after it, we strongly feel that the utility both for ourselves and our neighbours is the tree's removal. I have not (yet) instructed a surveyor or other professional to assess this, since the risk of damage is clear and the damage that it has caused is visible in the photographs. Essentially, despite intervention, the tree is growing too big, is less attractive than it once was and is causing damage to property, as well as making the garden more difficult to cultivate and use for other beneficial purposes. I attach a number of photographs. Obviously, we would instruct skilled professionals to remove the tree were permission granted. We have used appropriately licensed and regulated tree surgeons to do the crown reduction works in the past.