Graham Rix

For every tree saved by a Tree Preservation Order there must be a hundred felled because of the threat of TPOs. Prior to submitting a Planning application, almost every developer, large or small, amateur or professional, fells any tree within about ten metres of the proposal, – just in case the trees get ‘preserved’  Yet had the trees not been felled, and the development had proceeded, the majority of trees on the site would have survived.

Trees need a system of immunity from Tree Preservation Orders, a system whereby the developer could serve notice on the Local Authority that the trees on a certain site will  be immune from new Preservation Orders for a period of, say, twelve months.   This would save thousands of trees every year.

On the rare occasions when a naïve developer fails to remove the trees he can then be in the situation where a small preserved tree, which may have given some minor overshadowing to the proposed building, has reduced the value of the site by several hundred thousand pounds.

There is, afterall, system of immunity for Listed Buildings. And that seems to work.