007 never had this problem! Daniel Craig agrees to cut back towering 80ft plane tree at his £4million London home to end row with neighbour 

  • Actors Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz live in a £4million home in north London
  • Neighbours applied to have a towering 80ft tree in stars' back garden remove
  • Hollywood couple have submitted a counter application in bid to end the row

By Stephanie Linning for MailOnline

Published: 09:45 EST, 2 February 2017 | Updated: 10:01 EST, 2 February 2017

As James Bond, he travels the world thwarting villains and their murderous schemes.

But away from the screen, and much closer to home, Daniel Craig has found himself trying to put an end to a rather more mundane plot - one that centres around an 80ft tree in his back garden.

The 007 actor, 48, and wife Rachel Weisz, 46, face having to axe one of two large plane trees behind their £4million north London home after their next door neighbours complained the roots were damaging their house. 

The row has divided the neighbourhood with residents reacting angrily to the idea.

Rather than allow the row to drag on, the Hollywood power couple have now offered to cut back the tree, rather than fell it completely.   

Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz agreed to cut back two trees after a neighbour complained they were causing damage. Pictured, the rear of the neighbour's north London home

The Hollywood power couple, pictured, submitted a counter application to the local council yesterday. They agreed to cut back an 80ft tree after one neighbour asked for it to be removed

Graphic showing the two properties, with the disputed plane tree highlighted

Craig's neighbours claimed their four-storey terraced home has been left riddled with cracks due to subsidence caused by the roots of trees belonging to Craig and his wife.

They have applied to the council to chop down the tree at the end of the stars' back garden, as well as hornbeam, clematis and wisteria trees in their front garden. They also want two other trees on the property to be significantly trimmed.

The council has yet to return a decision on the neighbour's request but Craig and Weisz, who married in 2011, have already offered an alternate solution in an attempt to put an end to the dispute.

The couple have agreed to cut back the two 'widespreading' plane trees in the application, explaining this has been done in the past.

A tree surgeon proposed: 'To further reduce the moisture uptake, the suggested works are: to reduce both trees to approximately 1-1.5m below the previous reduction points, clean out crowns, remove deadwood.' It does not mention the wisteria at the front of the property.

Neighbours have already spoken out over the move to chop down the tree.  

The tree (left) in the stars' garden is alleged to have caused damage to this property, right

Colin Jacobson, who lives behind Craig's home, described the proposal to chop down the large plane tree as 'worrying, upsetting and unnecessary' and another neighbour said felling the tree would be 'unforgivable'.

Mr Jacobson said: 'This tree has been part of my family's life since 1966 when we moved into the [area].

'It has been a feature of our children's growing up, always there as a reminder of the beauty of nature in a dense central urban area.

'I consider the proposal to fell this tree as being a drastic over-reaction to the alleged problems.' 

An engineer's report included in the initial application said the trees have caused subsidence in the neighbouring property, built in 1850, which has a three-storey extension at the back.

The report highlights a bathroom, two bedrooms, a living room, a conservatory, a utility room and a hallway, all with varying sizes of cracks in the walls, said to be caused by the trees.

Colin Jacobson, who has lived in the area for 50 years, is among other neighbours who object to the tree removal, branding it 'worry, upsetting and unnecessary'. 

In a response to the council, he wrote: '[The tree] has been a feature of our children's lives growing up, always there as a reminder of the beauty of nature in a dense central urban area.' 

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Mr Craig and Ms Weisz for comment. 

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