Screening With Trees - Regulations ?

uncle betty

Hi All,

My question is as follows -

We are looking at buying a particular property. It is set back about 250m from the road.

At the road, sharing the entrance, is a new build. Big two-story house, with it's rear boundary about 80m from the road.

In other words, ''our'' ''front garden'' would be about 170m long, and is totally overlooked by this new two-storey build.

Would we be allowed to screen this boundary (ie width of the new house's site) with trees - eg Leylandii ?

Doing so would be putting up a screen of trees which would be about 30m back from the rear elevation of the new build. From the back door of that house, it would basically be spanning from East to South.

Are there general planning rules against this; local authority rules that might vary from authoity to authority; or is it that we can do what we like on our own property, to maintain our boundary and privacy ?

Appreciate all answers, and thanks in advance.

Poor Uncle Tom

The biggest problem with landscape planting any LA has is in getting people to do it. Preventing people from carrying out planting isn't dealt with in any Development Plan that I have seen.

However, the use of Leylandii is not liked by a lot of LA's as this species is not considered native and can look artificial. There are lots of fairly quick growing native tree species that could be mixed with hight hedging to make a natural screen belt. Check with any horticulturalist or at any good garden centre.

In your case, unless your planning permission has a specific condition limiting landscape planting arrangements, you can plant away.

Sonnenblumen

When it comes to planting a screen in any garden on emust also act with some civic/neighbourly responsiblity. Planting leylandii close to any nearby housing is reprehensible and a very crude form of providing screening. Yes they are cheap, fast growing and ever green, but in many cases they are rarely maintained in good condition, resulting in many consequential site problems which can be severe.

Many consider Leylandii such a nuisance that there is significant public support to have them banned. AFAIK, they are now banned from planting in sub-urban areas in UK.

There are many solutions to providing attractive and practical screening in any garden setting.

Sonnenblumen

Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »

The biggest problem with landscape planting any LA has is in getting people to do it.

Do you mean convincing clients to implement a particular plan? The responsibility of the LA extends beyond the immediacy of the client relationship but also to the wider community etc?

Poor Uncle Tom

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Do you mean convincing clients to implement a particular plan? The responsibility of the LA extends beyond the immediacy of the client relationship but also to the wider community etc?

What I mean is that historically I have found when checking properties against their planning permissions the biggest omission I have always found was in the area of Landscaping. In most cases like this the LA can no longer do anything about it as the 7 year timeframe to take enforcement action has usually elapsed.

Back on-topic, generally, there is not any restriction on what type of trees you plant here. The Environment Department does, however, put warnings and restrictions on the movement of soils in case of the spread of such pests as Japanese Knotwood and wild rhubarb, etc.