Tree felling on a site with planning permission not regarded as commencement of development ?

[Liquidambar]

For a site with planning permission, why isn't felling the trees listed for removal in the Arboricultural Method Statement treated as commencement of development?

[GarethM]

Groundworks for the footings are, probably because tree removal is just site clearance before you break ground so to speak and can be reversed.

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

14 hours ago, Liquidambar said:

For a site with planning permission, why isn't felling the trees listed for removal in the Arboricultural Method Statement treated as commencement of development?

'Site Clearance' comes under CDM Regs. and hence "if" it is consider the tree felling is part of site clearance, distinctly, as opposed to 'good arboricultural management', i.e. removal of diseased / dying / unsafe trees, then technically development has commenced - in practice it may not be so clear cut (pardon the pun.) 

[daltontrees]

6 hours ago, AA Teccie (Paul) said:

'Site Clearance' comes under CDM Regs. and hence "if" it is consider the tree felling is part of site clearance, distinctly, as opposed to 'good arboricultural management', i.e. removal of diseased / dying / unsafe trees, then technically development has commenced - in practice it may not be so clear cut (pardon the pun.) 

Not even that clearcut. Tree work only comes under CDM if the trees are being used as a structure for construction. Or so I have been informed.

[daltontrees]

21 hours ago, Liquidambar said:

For a site with planning permission, why isn't felling the trees listed for removal in the Arboricultural Method Statement treated as commencement of development?

Is someone saying that the tree works are NOT commencement?

There is a lot of case law about this sort of thing, since commencement kees a valuable planning permission alive forever otherwise it would expire within the period stated in the permission.

If trees are removed but there are outstanding suspensive conditions (e.g. approval of building materials, contamination reports) then the tree works are not commencement. Indeed, if they are only authorised by the planning permission, starting the tree works while other conditions are not yet met would make them unlawful.

One of the tests is whether the works (in this case, trees) could have gone ahead anyway without the planning permission then they might not qualify as commencement of development. Are they TPOd or in a consevation area? Could be significant.

Quite a complicated business really.

 

[Liquidambar]

The site's in a conservation area and had conditional planning permission - all the pre-commencement conditions had been applied for but most had not been discharged when all the trees listed for removal in the Arboricultural Method Statement [ c 200 trees] were felled just before the planning permission lapsed - just after the trees had been felled the LPA  of the local council accepted that a small pre-lapse demolition meant development had commenced but a year later the planning permission has now been "quashed" or revoked by the council because pre-commencement conditions have not been complied with/discharged. 

I'm not sure if the fact that pre-commencement conditions were undischarged at the time of the tree removals meant this site didn't have planning permission when the trees were removed.The Arboricultural Method Statement is not listed as an approved plan in the Decision Notice for the planning permission.

I've read in an Arboricultural Method Statement for a site in a different area that as soon as a site with an Arboricultural Method Statement gets planning permission any trees listed for removal in the Arboricultural Method Statement are immediately automatically approved for removal.  I'm not sure if undischarged pre-commencement conditions make any difference to that - i.e. meant this site didn't have proper planning permission when the trees were removed. 

Generally speaking is the Arboricultural Method Statement for a site with conditional planning permission regarded as the go-ahead for tree removals? Would the developer need any other approval ?

 

[daltontrees]

6 hours ago, Liquidambar said:

The site's in a conservation area and had conditional planning permission - all the pre-commencement conditions had been applied for but most had not been discharged when all the trees listed for removal in the Arboricultural Method Statement [ c 200 trees] were felled just before the planning permission lapsed - just after the trees had been felled the LPA  of the local council accepted that a small pre-lapse demolition meant development had commenced but a year later the planning permission has now been "quashed" or revoked by the council because pre-commencement conditions have not been complied with/discharged. 

I'm not sure if the fact that pre-commencement conditions were undischarged at the time of the tree removals meant this site didn't have planning permission when the trees were removed.The Arboricultural Method Statement is not listed as an approved plan in the Decision Notice for the planning permission.

I've read in an Arboricultural Method Statement for a site in a different area that as soon as a site with an Arboricultural Method Statement gets planning permission any trees listed for removal in the Arboricultural Method Statement are immediately automatically approved for removal.  I'm not sure if undischarged pre-commencement conditions make any difference to that - i.e. meant this site didn't have proper planning permission when the trees were removed. 

Generally speaking is the Arboricultural Method Statement for a site with conditional planning permission regarded as the go-ahead for tree removals? Would the developer need any other approval ?

 

This is what I was hinting at, if you remove trees before suspensive conditions are signed off then the tree works cannot legally be commencement of development. And strictly speaking their removal in a conservaiton area, reliant only on the planning permission to give them statutory exemption, is unlawful.

AMSs have no particular legal status. They only have whatever status is conferred on them by conditions, but they can also be used (in my experience and interpretation of legislation) as implied permission. So can approved planning drawings. But only if all the suspensive conditions have been met.

You''' have seen the kind of thing "No development will commence until the applicant has submitted a blahdeblah for whatever to be approved in writing by the Council"

Having planning permission and being allowed to start are different things. No start, no permission after several years. Some big expensive legal cases have been fought, and lost, on this.