Tree roots owned by council damaged my wall

[fairbyblue]

Help please. Whats my next step?

Reported to local authority that their 30 ft tree which is 1 metre from my wall has damaged both the wall and cracked my driveway. Reported it in march 2007 yes thats right 1 year ago and after many letters, lost files and all that twaddle. They wanted estimates to repair which i provided and surprise surprise lost again. Re sent them (£6000 to put right) Then loss adjuster attended and after 3 weeks of chasing him he offered me £975. Although in his letter he said £9750. So I responded with below email
Thank you for your letter dated 22/4/08 following your visit 3 weeks
previously and the contents therein.
Notwithsatnding I have waited in excess of 1 year for this offer I shall
be refusing and seeking legal advice.
The reasons being ;

1. In your letter you offer £9750.00 and then in form of discharge state
£975. I presume another mistake or is it a generous offer.

2. In your letter you state the 'some cracking to the wall that could be
consistent with slight uplift from root growth but much of the wall is
undamaged'. The wall is damaged beyond repair so therefore Sefton are
liable for replacement.

3. Again in your letter 'There are cracks to the concrete driveway, caused
in my view by long term settlement of the driveway and not the type of
uplift that would be consistent with root growth' That is your opinion
that it is not root damage, and I wish it to be inspected more thoroughly
ie by lifting the concrete to inspect and following the visible treeroot
from the tree,through the 1 metre of tarmac and then under my drive.

4. In the form of discharge you wish me to sign for 'in full and final
settlement, present and future, which I have against Sefton Metropolitan
Borough Council brought about by tree root growth affecting the front
boundary wall and driveway area'. This is unreasonable as you state that
in your opinion the drive way is caused by settlement not tree root and
therefore that clause is unnecessary unless you believe that the damage is
caused by tree root or that there is a likelyhood of damage.

Can you please acknowledge receipt of this email

He responded like this

I acknowledge receipt of your email below.

In response to the points raised:-

1) I do apologise, the figure is £975.00.

2) I disagree - there is limited cracking that could possibly be due to
the roots and I believe that a repair is possible.

3) The driveway seems to have dropped rather than being lifted. If you
want to arrange to have trial holes excavated through the driveway at your
own cost, I would be more than happy to re-inspect.

4) The Form of Discharge was worded to take into account the items for
which you are claiming, but could be changed.

As a matter of negotiation, I would be prepared to discuss with you a
slight increase in the offer put forward but this would unfortunately go
nowhere near the figures suggested by your estimates.

Now the problem being he has not given me a breakdown how he arrived at this arbitary figure of £975 and without admitting liability he would negotiate upwards but nowhere near the real cost!!!!!!
He form of discharge wanted me to sign my rights away to all future claims against council re the tree, so he can swivel on that one.

Oh and the tree is leaning and i cant get my car on my path

Here some piccies of the tree, note the tarmac and follow the root to my driveway.

[rory32]

I have unapproved your duplicate thread as it's best to kep to one thread per topic.

[fairbyblue]

Hi, sorry didnt know, im a newbie.

[rory32]

Perfectly okay - happens all the time.

Councils are required to have a complaints procedure and follow it (here is Sefton councils complaints procedure Corporate complaints ). I would give them a deadline for getting back in touch with you to resolve the matter giving a breakdown of how he arrived at the figure (I would suggest you give them 14 days) with the threat of if they don't you will report the matter to the ombudsman for resolution as this has now been going on for a year.

[patdavies]

I would also contact the Highway Authority in order to get the tree removed as it is blocking your dropped kerb access.

[ozzywizard]

Sorry no advise for you, just an opinion that this is an absolute disgrace. good luck and keep us informed.

[mooreda]

If you have Legal Expenses insurance on your house insurance have you not considered putting in a claim with them to take the matter up with the Council?

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Originally Posted by patdavies

I would also contact the Highway Authority in order to get the tree removed as it is blocking your dropped kerb access.

On what picture is the kerb to determine that?
(Btw, a tree leaning for no car access could be the trunk or branches)

And how do you know the Highway Agency are responsible for this particular road?




OP, I would be most concerned with the drain in the picture.
Also, because this is underground already, it could give a clearer indication of damage and the cause.

A not too busy builder would give an appraisal for free provided he thinks there is potential work for him.

[fairbyblue]

Cheers thanks for all the info.

[patdavies]

Originally Posted by Weird Al Yankovic

On what picture is the kerb to determine that?

The second pictuture, shows the tree leaning across the entrance - where the dropped kerb would be. IMO, the entrance is restricted.

And how do you know the Highway Agency are responsible for this particular road?

If you actually read what I posted before letting your little fingers fly across your keyboard, you might perhaps note that I did not mention the Highways Agency at all. I used the phrase Highway Authority.

To save you the trouble of googling the difference. The Highway Authority is usually the County or Unitary Council for non-primary roads.

OP, I would be most concerned with the drain in the picture.
Also, because this is underground already, it could give a clearer indication of damage and the cause.

And which picture shows the depth of the drain in order that it might be affected?

[fairbyblue]

Cheers, I will be throwing a few emails towards the council.

[Weird Al Yankovic]

Originally Posted by patdavies

And which picture shows the depth of the drain in order that it might be affected?

Erm, the only one posted.

Drain depths are whatever the building regs were of the day the drain was constructed.

In any case, the depth will be at least 18" but probably more.

The cracks from the tree roots have clearly reached the two top corners of the drain location. As tree roots normally grow underground, which is the case here from the damage, then any surveyor will look at what damage, if any, has been caused to the drain.

In fact, it looks as though there is a third crack toward the top section of the drain. And tree roots will follow a constantly damp underground area.

Simply lifting the cover may reveal this, hence, one is already underground without even digging.

The run of the drain too may be in the direction of the tree roots so there could be a huge amount of damage that has been caused.

Which is why I said I would be more concerned with the drain than with a wall.

But you decided to ignore that.

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