Happy Mundays: Tale of the Tree

Now then, we’re tree fans down at Nelson Road, but sometimes they simply get too big, ruining pavements, damaging buildings and making life difficult for residents and after a certain point, we have to intervene. Housing Manager Lauren gives us another clinic in soft diplomacy and determination in getting to the root of the issue. She tells us more below:

One of our residents had been struggling for years with a tree from a neighbouring property that had uplifted her garden path. As it grew out of control, the issues only worsened.

My predecessor had begun addressing the matter, and Verity, our Team Leader, visited the site to take photographs, ensuring I had a clear understanding of the situation. The tenant’s daughter remained steadfast, advocating to keep the issue from being overlooked.

Despite multiple attempts, we were unable to contact the owner of the neighbouring property. This led us to do some detective work, searching for information and eventually discovering that the property was not managed by Pinnacle. Further investigation revealed the identity of both the property manager and the owner—finally, we were making progress.

However, since we had no direct contact details for the owner, we had to resort to writing to them. Recognising this would be a time-consuming process, we pursued the issue through the property manager instead. Persistent follow-ups—through emails, phone calls, and letters—eventually led to a botanical breakthrough. Now, seeing the tree removed, all our hard work has paid off. Repairs to the neighbouring garden path can finally begin, and the tenant can once again enjoy her outdoor space. It has been a long journey, but it is truly rewarding to see the resolution come to life.