Widower calls on council to trim tree for safety of residents and schoolchildren

An 81-year-old man says a council’s refusal to deal with an overhanging tree risks causing injuries to him or local schoolchildren.

Alan Jones, who lives on The Homestead behind Ysgol Clywedog, says that since he moved in 20 years ago no work has been undertaken by Wrexham County Borough Council to pollard or trim back the Common Lime tree, which is on the school’s land.

The tree – planted when the original Ysgol Bryn Offa was built between 1959 and 1960 – is covered with ivy that Mr Jones, a former school caretaker, believes is slowly killing it, causing larger branches to fall down into his small rear garden.

And the widower said the fear of being struck by one prevented his late wife from sitting outside during her final years.

“My wife loved the garden, it was her space,” he said. “I just used to do the heavy work, she loved planting and bringing it to life.

“But as she grew ill the fear that one of these large heave branched might injure her meant she couldn’t sit out and enjoy it.

“Now I have the same fear. Some of the branches that fall are really heavy and taller than me. I’m now worried that the tree is dying due to the ivy and that with the ferocious storms we have been having not only could I get hurt if one comes down, there’s a risk the tree itself might come down.

“If it fell towards my house it would certainly land on the property.

“Trees need management to keep them healthy and safe. But I have never seen any work being carried out on these trees.

“It can’t be safe for the pupils on the other side either. One of these branches could easily hurt a child if it fell on them.

“I love trees and nature and don’t want to get rid of them, but they need to be brought under control, pollarded to shorten them a bit, thinned out to take away unhealthy branches and to have the ivy removed so they can grow healthy again.”

Wrexham County Borough Council said it had been in touch with Mr Jones about the problem on a number of occasions  and insisted that the trees were being managed correctly.

“As the council and landowner responsible for the tree, we do understand and sympathise with the concerns raised by the resident,” said Cllr Terry Evans, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Environment.

“It’s not uncommon for people to worry about trees close to their property, and as a council it’s important that we always respond in a balanced and appropriate way in line with our policies and legal requirements.

“We take our legal duty of care extremely seriously and have an approved tree management policy. That seeks to address potential risks while also making sure Wrexham has a well-managed tree-stock that benefits local communities, wildlife and the environment.

“This particular Common Lime tree has been inspected by qualified arboricultural staff a number of times over the years, with the most recent inspection in November 2025. We’ve also visited the resident’s property on two occasions to listen to their concerns and to advise them that – under Common Law rights – they could prune the tree back to their boundary at their own cost.

“We would only consider pollarding a mature tree like this if it was structurally compromised and presented an unacceptable level of risk – which we don’t believe it does. We’re also not aware of any evidence of large heavy branches falling into the resident’s garden.

“It’s worth noting that neither public nor private landowners have a legal obligation to prune their trees upon request from a neighbour. However, neighbours can usually prune branches that overhang their property themselves, under Common Law rights – and preferably in liaison with the tree owner.

“Tree owners do have a legal obligation to ensure all reasonable steps are taken to address any foreseeable risks, and we feel that in this instance we are meeting that obligation, and we’ve done what we can to try and reduce any concerns.”

Mr Jones said that the idea he could prune back the tree himself was not practical.

“The tree is so far onto the school property,” he said. “The overhanging branches are so far off the ground. To expect me to pay for the tree to be made safe and to go through all the legal hurdles I would have to to get a tree surgeon allowed on-site at the school when it is the council’s responsibility is extraordinary.”