Chesterfield mum-of-three concerned for children's safety after falling tree branch from protected tree ruins her car

Sarah Boler, 37, from Chesterfield moved to Storrs Road with her three children and husband in September.

Last Friday, a large branch fell on her car from a tree planted in her neighbour’s garden, damaging several panels in the vehicle.

Sarah said: “It was a shock to both me and my neighbour. My children were playing in the garden just a day before. It’s a danger not only for my children but also for all the local children and pupils who walk to a nearby school as a few large trees, growing next to it, are hanging over the road."

Sarah contacted her neighbour to be told that eight trees in her garden are covered by a preservation order from Chetserfield Borough Council and cannot be trimmed without their agreement.

Sarah, who used to be a special needs teacher, said: "My neighbour is an anxious older lady in her late seventies who wants to do the best for the people around her. She said she was fearful something like this would happen.

"I emailed the tree officer at the Chesterfield council and got an automatic reply that he is off sick but monitoring emails. I never got a reply.

"I then tried various numbers to contact the council, I was transferred between different people finally directed to an environmental officer at the Borough Council who gave me advice on preventing tree falling, which was counterproductive because the tree already fell. He obviously couldn’t do anything about my tree because he doesn’t oversee trees in Chesterfield.

"I was told it's my neighboour’s responsibility to trim the tree, but she needs to submit an application every time she thinks she should trim the branch, even if the tree is diseased. They should give her an option to cut the tree. They don’t give her the option to decide but hold her responsible.

"The council says I can apply to have the tree trimmed but I would need to pay for the tree surgeon. I can’t afford it and it is not my tree.

"I want people to be aware that the Chesterfield Borough Council don’t see urgency concerning this at all.

"It seems however that the council will admit no responsibility over any of this and feel that the responsibility is purely my neighbour’s

"The trees are vastly too tall for their location being close to my property, the main road and street light as well as a local infant school. The fact of the matter is a person could have been damaged as opposed to a vehicle.

"Why must my neighbour be responsible for monitoring and maintaining the trees at her cost when the council has applied the TPO. The council are also not bothered to ensure that home owner is upholding any of these responsibilities. Which leaves everyone in a very difficult situation when the branch that fell was severely rotten.

"We are also set to be out of pocket in order to have our car repaired at no fault of our own!”

A spokesperson for Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Tree Preservation Orders are used to protect trees which make an important contribution to our environment and have been valued for their visual contribution to the street scene and community. They can be used to protect rare tree specimens or larger woodland areas.

"The landowner is still responsible for the tree even if it is under a Tree Preservation Order. We have a dedicated Tree Officer who can provide support and guidance to landowners about maintenance and the permissions required.”