To pollard or not to pollard that is the question

[twiglets]

Morning campers, I'll keep it short. One neighbour moans consistently, threatens us with solicitors, complains to county etc etc due to a tree that has grown over at least 25 years (note school build before the houses). HT gives in and we decimate our trees throughout the whole site. Start receiving calls from upset neighbours as to why we are pollarding healthy trees.
Job complete- no branches overhanging garden- still not happy as the ones near the boundary will grow- rings me to complain again, i cut down a couple, still not happy and I basically lost it with him.
Did I do right or wrong, I explained we have no money, we can't fix things for the children as we spent it stopping leaves falling in his garden . BM left recently, one reason could be due to spending thousands to satisfy a small group of houses, when some of our children can't have hot water to wash their hands(separate debate on water temperatures), and a host of other repairs that the money could have been spent on.
Have told the DHT of the call, now expecting the email about how rude I was and how unfair we are.
One thing I did do is correct him on saying they had lived at the property 30 years, to which I pointed out the school was built 27 years ago and BEFORE the houses
So the question is- when should we draw the line and put the children (and the environment first)????????

[Eddy]

I am lucky that the only near neighbour of our school is me.

I occasionally get complaints that our trees drop leaves on the pavement during autumn, which get slippery when wet. I don't discus it in any meaningful way with them. i direct them to email into the school with their concerns.

But there are some who will always find something to complain about, no matter how much you do. In fact, the more you do the more they expect each time.

Makes me laugh when in a previous neighbours complained about the noise the children were making. They had only just bought the house and did not realise that the children would be noisy!

[Vera]

Personally I would stop now and if any further requests are made then politely point out (in writing) that the overhanging branches to his property are under his control and should he wish then he is within his rights to cut them back to the boundary line at his expense. Give him permission to dispose of the debris. Point out that any damage to the trees will be addressed with the invoice forwarded to him and that professionals should be sought to advise and undertake any removal of branches.

Point out that the education of children is the schools top priority and that includes awareness of the environment and nature and chopping back or removing perfectly healthy trees does not fit that narrative as it destroys natural habitats.

[ElGuapo]

I sympathise with you.
I think the neighbour should be told to direct any complaints to the Head via the school office email. Then I would let the Head deal with them.
That's why they get paid the big bucks.

[OXSET]

Complaints should be fielded by the leadership team.

I'd also, in writing, ask where all of these works fit in to the school development plan.

[twiglets]

Thanks for replies- but it's the HT who has approved works. I know what we should do, but I don't hold the purse strings.

[Keyolder]

We’ve had similar neighbour complaints in the past, from playground noise, class change pips being too loud, outside lighting too bright, leaves on the pavement outside the school etc. A woman even called the police saying our CCTV camera was pointing at her balcony and windows invading her privacy. I showed the police officer the views from all the cameras and printed out an image of the view from the suspect camera. The police were satisfied, and the woman eventually stopped complaining.

Sounds like you have been more than accommodating with the neighbours requests, hopefully the neighbour will eventually find other things and people to moan about and maybe leave the school alone.

[grimoopnorth]

I can understand your pain. We have lots of trees/bushes and a few of them are on our neighbours fence line. We only cut back if it is going to cause damage to the house. We have just recently paid to have this done so thats £700 off my budget. You need to have a chat with your line manager/head and come to an agreement on what the school will pay for. Then draft a letter/email to your neighbours so they know what the school will or won't do. Sounds like your neighbour is a right pain and expects his fence line to be cut for free.

[grimoopnorth]

We’ve had similar neighbour complaints in the past, from playground noise, class change pips being too loud, outside lighting too bright, leaves on the pavement outside the school etc. A woman even called the police saying our CCTV camera was pointing at her balcony and windows invading her privacy. I showed the police officer the views from all the cameras and printed out an image of the view from the suspect camera. The police were satisfied, and the woman eventually stopped complaining.

Sounds like you have been more than accommodating with the neighbours requests, hopefully the neighbour will eventually find other things and people to moan about and maybe leave the school alone.

Amazing the amount of people who live near a school and expect peace and quiet.

[Mike04]

We had a similar problem with one of our neighbours all he did was complain about some of our trees. In the end i pasted him onto the arboreal guy at county hall. He told him he has no right to light in his garden and i never heard from him again. So see if you can pass it on to your county council i would.