Living with trees

We only carry out tree works for trees blocking light in exceptional circumstances.

A property will not usually benefit from a "right to light" as trees will naturally create shade at certain times of the day.

Under the Prescriptions Act 1832, a person can only benefit from a "right to light" if they have enjoyed light in their property for 20 years before the obstruction appeared.

This normally only applies to buildings / structures that block light directly and not trees.

For more information see, GOV.UK: Rights to light.

For advice about high hedges see, GOV.UK: High hedges.

We will not:

• prune or remove a Council owned tree to stop / reduce leaf fall
• remove fallen leaves from a private property
• maintain gutters / remove leaves from gutters that may have fallen from council owned trees

If you are unable to do this yourself see, help with gardening.

South Tyneside Council Housing Services can also offer one-off or regular basic gardening work. For more information see, Garden tidy service.

The loss of leaves from trees in the autumn is part of the natural cycle and cannot be avoided by pruning.

For roads, including foot and cycle paths that run alongside, extra teams work to clear fallen leaves.

Parks and green spaces are regularly cleared of fallen leaves but leaves on grass / shrub beds are generally left until the majority of leaves have fallen or left / moved to suitable areas to rot down naturally.

Trees provide natural habitat for nesting and roosting birds and are protected from damage or destruction under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. 

We do not prune or remove council trees to stop or reduce bird droppings, or remove bird droppings from private land.

Warm soapy water is usually enough to remove the droppings.

For more information see, the Tree and Woodland Policy.

We do not prune or remove council owned trees to stop or reduce fallen fruit, berries, nuts or seeds. 

All trees shed parts at various time of the year so we ask residents to be understanding that it is a normal part of the tree life cycle.

Fallen berries, seeds and fruit are also a valuable food source for wildlife.

We are not obliged to remove anything that may have fallen from council owned trees. This is the landowner's responsbility.

If fallen fruit leads to a significant anti-social problem the police should be contacted.

To report a road, street or highway that needs to be cleaned, please see Street Cleaning.

Trees provide habitat for a variety of species of insects.

Some tree species such as sycamore and horse chestnut can have infestation with insects such as Aphids creating honey dew / Sap causing a short term nuisance over part of the year. We would not normally prune or remove a tree for this reason.

There may be reasons why we have to remove trees due to certain pests. For example, if they are a carrier of a notifiable disease or are an invasive species and may cause a risk to residents' health, such as the Oak Processionary Moth.

The Arboricultural Association can offer advice on how to manage and look out for certain pest species.

You can encourage natural predators for these pests with wildlife friendly gardening. For advice see, RHS: aphids.

We encourage you to plant a tree in your garden if you have space for one. This should be done away from properties and structures.

Appropriate species can be found at RHS: Trees for smaller gardens.

Planting a tree in your garden is one the easiest things you can do to help achieve our goals of reducing the impacts of climate change and increase the tree canopy cover of the borough and country.

South Tyneside Council Housing Services

If you are a South Tyneside Council tenant, we manage the trees in your garden and can offer advice and help. For contact information see, South Tyneside Council Housing Services: Contact us.

We work on a risk based system when assessing requests and these will be prioritised on actual risk, not perceived risk due to size.

These will be a high priority for our team, with minor issues such as falling leaves, loss of satellite signal, birds' droppings and a "right to light," possibly taking up to two years to respond to.

If you have a conifer or hedge, your housing officer will need to escalate works on these.

For more information see the Tree and Woodland Policy.

Rented accommodation or owned homes

If you are in private rented accommodation, please read your tenancy agreement regarding your responsibilities for your garden and trees. Residents are encouraged to plant a tree in their garden where their tenancy agreement allows.

Your tree is your responsibility. If you have issues or need help with a tree in your property you can get valuable advice from the Arboricultural Association. Private tree related issues should try and be settled amicably with your neighbour.

Felling trees is highly specialised and potentially very dangerous so should always be carried out by competent professionals.

Make sure any contractor carrying out the work is suitably experienced, qualified and fully insured. For a list of suitable firms see, find a tree surgeon. 

Tree Preservation Orders (TPO)

If your tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), is located within a Conservation Area or has other forms of restrictions placed upon it, you must get written permission from us before undertaking any work.

The law is quite strict on this and ignorance of a protection order is not seen as a defence. You should always check with the Planning Department by contacting Planning.Applications@southtyneside.gov.uk before doing so.

Where a tree with a TPO has been granted consent to be removed, there may be a requirement to complete a tree replacement notice form. Guidance on this can be found at GOV.UK: Tree replacement notice appeals.

Most trees do not respond well to heavy pruning. Over-pruning can often stress the tree as they lose their vaulable energy and resources found in their wood. This increases the chance of diseases from pruning wounds or dormant buds growing.

Our tree policy follows the current British Standards for tree works and best practice. We prioritise pruning based on the level of risk posed by each request.