There are calls for something to be done to tackle problems caused by 50ft trees making residents’ lives a misery.
The hybrid black poplars tower over homes – blocking out light and dropping leaves on driveways and pavements.
People living on the Sonora Fields estate in Sittingbourne face daily issues and want Swale council to take action.
Julie Roalf lives in Sunstone Drive and says the problem has got worse over the past five years with the trees not being cut back.
The 59-year-old, who is an above-knee amputee, has slipped and fallen on leaves near her three-storey home.
The mum-of-one explained: “When the leaves drop, and there are a lot of them, they’re wet and cause me to fall.
“I can’t count how many times I have fallen over as there are twigs and branches too.
“We can’t really see outside all that well when the sun isn’t out because of how dark it is.
“The fact they are above a three-storey house just shows they’re too high – especially when they’re brushing against it.
“They’re all leaning as well with none of them straight and the sap also goes on the car and on the windows.
“When we get a storm or even just windy weather, it is quite frightening – I always park my car around the side out the way.
“So it does worry me now about the house’s foundations.”
Charity shop worker Julie and husband Steve have lived in the Redrow-built property for 18 years.
Yet Mrs Roalf says no work has been carried out by the council to top the trees since before the pandemic.
She added: “They are lovely houses here, but we’ve been trying for at least five years to get this sorted.
“All that has ever happened is a couple of trees have been taken down which were really leaning or had already fallen.
“They have also trimmed up some of the lower branches so we can drive down the road, but they have never been topped.
“I get a different story every time I phone. The last I was told was the trees would be reduced by a third in October, but that never happened.
“I then contacted the council again in December and they said they would be trimmed in January, but that also didn’t happen.”
She says it’s not just physical problems the trees cause for the pair, but mental ones too.
“It can be very depressing,” she added. The house is so dark most of the time, and when my mother-in-law was living with us upstairs before she passed, her time here could have been improved if the issue had been sorted.
“We have to have the lights on in the house a lot too – my husband gets in shortly after lunch and straightaway he puts them on.
“We had an estate agent who came over a little while ago when the house was on the market, and he said the darkness may affect how quickly the house is sold.”
Fellow resident Amanda Anderson says one of the street’s trees has already fallen down.
The 40-year-old mum-of-three explained: “There is potential for them to fall and cause damage to the property.
“One did fall down in the past but luckily fell the other way.”
“So as lovely as they can look, they’re definitely a danger.”
Swale council has acknowledged the problems facing those in the street.
A spokesman said: “We are aware of the tree inquiries in Sunstone Drive and have pruned and cut out several of the closest trees in the past.
“We have already assessed the current situation and will issue work in accordance with our tree maintenance policy.”
However, ward councillor James Hunt (Con) believes work needs to be done quickly to address the problem.
“The trees at Balas Drive play area/Sunstone Drive are in dire need of management,” he said.
“While some tree work has been done across the estate, I have been pushing for better management for years and it seemed like we were getting somewhere.
“But it is frustrating it appears this is down the council’s priority list when mismanagement like this has an impact on residents living nearby.”
The latest concerns come after other Sonora Fields residents raised issues about different trees causing damage.
Resident Emma Tench called on contractors to urgently trim them back outside her home in Argent Way in October.
Her next-door neighbour’s windows were shattered by the trees in high winds and her mum was hit in the face by a branch due to the overgrown greenery.
Six months on, Mrs Tench says she is still concerned: “The initial cut back has happened, but the trees still haven’t been topped.
“If you walk down the pathways outside of homes six to 20, you’ll see the trees are as tall as the houses and still can cause damage.”
