Writing To Support The Continuation Of A Tree Protection Order

[Jaidyn]

Hello - I am helping my son in logging support of a new TPO that the council has placed on several groups of trees which surround the local BP station in our city
Five large trees at the back of the site are currently protected and the company wish to remove ALL the trees on site so they can build a new subway sandwich shop there!
The trees are not in the way and right at the back and there would be no advantage to the garage
However the trees provide my son and his family with a huge amount of privacy from this 24 hr garage as the garage is at a higher level than the road behind . They are also large , in good condition and lovely and baffle the noise as well . Sone elderly neighbours say they wouldn’t mind them going as the trees shed the autumn leaves into all the gardens and it would save the elderly raking them up but my sons garden actually gets the majority of the shed leaves and he doesn’t mind
The tree council and woodland trust encourage engaging the community to support the trees staying but do any of you have some sharp and substantive info which I can add to our letter to the council asking for the order to remain .? I know there lots of educated and witty answer bankers out there who can add class to my arguments ! Thanks

[woofgang]

are they native species of trees that support wildlife? Water table balance is another issue, removing trees willy nilly can cause the water table to rise which can cause trouble......are they a "public amenity"? can they be seen by the public and do that make the area more attractive? do they provide shade or screen unattractive areas?

[albaqwerty]

if the trees are not diseased and provide privacy, they should stay.
Are they on council land? Are they pruned? What is their canopy like?

[hereIam]

This is so annoying what IS the point of a TPO if there is a chance they will be cut down?! My angle would be to consider the wildlife that will rely on these trees - birds, insects, maybe even squirrels etc etc.

[Jaidyn]

Ethan’s you all so much - keep them coming !

[woofgang]

herIam....looking at it from the other end, when my house was built, all the trees on the land that the whole development was built on had TPO's put on them. Trees outgrow their spaces, become a risk for various reasons and so on and the TPO needs to be revisited and maybe rescinded. I have had protection removed from 5 trees in my (fairly small) garden as time changed and the trees variously blocked out my upper windows, put my drains at risk, started to become hollow, and leaned dangerously over a neighbour's fence and greenhouse. Its right that such things should be revisited and reviewed.

[Chipchopper]

The way I see it, if the trees have TPO's, then an experienced tree officer must or should have done a full survey of the trees and also scheduled monitoring the trees plus any works to be done, if any to keep them in a reasonably safe condition.
I would contact the owner of the property and ask to see that report, failing that the Councils planning and development may be able to steer you in the right direction. Contacting a local councilor, to look into it may also help.
Good luck in lodging your sons support.

[woofgang]

chipper chopper it doesn't work that way on privately owned trees round here. The owner is responsible for the care of the trees and for any damage caused by them just as they are for unprotected trees. the only difference is that the owner must get permission for any works on the trees unless they are dangerous, dying, dead or diseased. The owner is also responsible for commissioning and paying for any surveys and reports needed before requesting treework. As I said, its not unusual for a blanket TPO to be put on all trees on certain sites to prevent immediate wholesale slaughter by developers. Its also common round here for the parish council to own public trees, and the TPO system to be owned and administered by the district council...same system, parish council commissions and pays for surveys and reports and makes the request for treeworks. District council agrees or not, parish council pays for works.

[ladybirder]

I tried to get a TPO on a tree in someone else's garden and lost. The reason given was that it was not a public amenity because it could not be seen from the road. It didn't seem to matter that the people living in 5 blocks of flats and 4 houses enjoyed its beauty. So my advice to you would be to stress the public amenity side of it as much as possible. Oh and good luck.

[woofgang]

lb, would those people who admired the tree be prepared to pay for its upkeep and rent the piece of ground from the person who owns the tree?

[cassa333]

Probably not Woofgang but they don't have to with a top.

My OH has responsibility for hundreds of TPO trees and the amount of people that want the trees cut back or down it astronomical so hearing of someone who wants to keep one is different.

[woofgang]

I know cassa I love my trees. We bough the house partly on the basis that two working class londoners who were brought up in council flats would own 10 trees. My garden is small but it has a woodland area with mostly native species in. When I got the last three removed, which were two heavily leaning oaks and a wild cherry, the nice man who came from the Tree group said that I would have to replace the trees but NOT with oak or cherry as they were not suitable for the situation. I absolutely get the need to retain trees but they are my trees on my land and I must admit that it did get up my nose a bit when a neighbour objected to my works request on the grounds that it would affect her privacy....as it was her fence and her greenhouse that would have been smashed if the leaning trees had fallen...I thought she might have been a bit less awkward....as I explained to the tree man, I would have preferred to keep the trees, but if they did fall and I tried to claim on my insurance, I would have had to fess up and say that I had kept them in the face of advice from the tree surgeons who care for my trees and because the council had refused me permission to remove them....in all honesty, all I wanted was a piece of paper from the council refusing me permission to remove them and I would have filed it and been happy but the council tree man agreed with the tree surgeons.

[woofgang]

PS they aren't the last three, just the most recent removals.....I still have oak and hazel, self seeded wild cherry saplings and have added rowan, holly and hawthorn as well as spindle, crab apple and amelanchier....and many more in large tubs.

[ladybirder]

I doubt it very much Woofgang. What was really annoying is that there are 3 trees with TPO's right next to it in the grounds of the flats which also cannot be seen from the road. The tree in question is on a piece of land due to be developed and I didn't want to see it chopped down. The TP officer had a word with the owner who said he had no plans to chop it down and it's still there. It overhangs our roof terrace and provides shade as well as screening which is lovely.

[woofgang]

lb, it may be that the protected trees had the protection put on when the flats were built? As I said, round here at least, its pretty much a standard part of the planning process for commercial development to prevent wholesale site clearance. Protection can then be removed where removal of the tree is reasonable

[ladybirder]

That's what I've always surmised woofy, (auto correct suggested Goofy) that the TPOs were put on when the flats were built. The one I was trying to protect plus one of the 3 with the TPOs on them, overhang my garden and oh boy they are very tall and it's quite scary when it's windy. My garden is filled with leaves everyday through autumn but I bag them and make compost. Love those trees.

[Jaidyn]

Update , I wrote a letter on his behalf covering all the salient points raised by answerbankers and RESULT - the plans have been resubmitted keeping ALL the existing trees ,whoopee - thanks all of you - !

[ladybirder]

Oh that's brilliant news Jaidyn. Well done you and thank you for letting us know.