View Single Post
  #1   Report Post  
Old 31-07-2004, 02:57 PM
Rachael of Nex, the Wiccan Rat
 
Posts: n/a
Default Garden abutting BR land and "fly tipping".

I live next to a railway line - the back fence of my garden abuts the space
BR (or whoever it is who is responsible for the land these days) use between
the platform and other people's land to stop trespassers. About four inches
away from their chainlink and barbwire fence is my chainlink fence that
marks the end of my garden. The piece of land on the railway side is about
fifteen foot wide, with another chainlink and barbwire effort at the other
end next to the platform, and is deilberately let wild by BR or whoever to
discourage anyone climbing over my fence (or anyone else's fence) to get
onto the line / platform. It's full of brambles, spikey hedges, that sort of
thing - you know what I mean, it's like these tracts of railway land all
over the country - all about six feet high of pure wilderness.
Growing on railway land right next to their fence - and consequently next to
mine - is a lilac tree. Very pretty but very big and very tall now. It
overhangs my garden in a big style and cuts off alot of light. I know I am
permitted to trim it back (and I haven't bothered asking the railway if I
can as they'd look at me like I was an idiot - I've just done it and took
the bits to the dump) where it overhangs. But my question is this:

I now need to do some real trimming of it because it is overhanging by a
good four feet, and the lopped off bits will probably be far too big to
handle and get in the (boyfriend's) car. I could saw them all up for
kindling for the winter but my woodpile is stacked up taller than me already
;-). As the trimmed back bits belong to them anyway and I am supposed to
return them to them, if I hoike them over the fence onto the railway land to
be swallowed up by the wilderness there, am I in fact fly tipping and could
be prosecuted ? Cos I'm damn sure if I dumped them at the station office
(assuming I could drag the branches round to the station this is) I'd get
told to sling my hook. Does fly tipping extend to biodegradable material in
such situations as this ?
I hasten to add that there is so much wilderness I'm absolutely sure nobody
would notice anyway (I would not consider doing it if not) but I'd just like
to know where I stand. I suppose I could ask someone at the station to trim
it and remove the bits (I'd probably get laughed at though) but you'd never
get to it on their side anyway.

Thoughts or similar experiences ?

Rachael