cherry laurel in woodland tpo

[Dean O]

sorry if this post should be in the forestry/ woodland management section.

 

i'm looking at a very small patch of wood for a client.

it has a tpo covering the "woodland" listed among the protected species list are the obvious species found in this wood - ie oak beech syc, birch with holly understory. but also cherry laurel.

 

Ive always been under the impresion that cherry laurel was wasnt the best thing to have in a woodland environment for various reasons - and in this patch it is doing what it does best and is dominating the understory and preventing regeneration.

not a sapling to be seen.

 

ive put in an application to remove the laurel (theres also conifer and rhodi being removed but these aren't protected)

 

had a meeting on site by one of the planning guys who says it will not go through as he cannot see any reason to remove it as removing it will decrease the woodlands amenity value (woodland with no right of way through it in a private gated "garden").

 

so in your guys views what would be the arguments for retaining or removing this species from the woodland.

[nepia]

By 'one of the planning guys' I take it you mean someone who knows nothing about trees and especially laurel. Laurel with a TPO?! Then again I live in an Area TPO location and it was set by date, not species!

You need to speak to a tree person I'd say. Go to the top and settle for nothing less. Cutting out the middle man is something I've done with effect several times though it pees off some along the way. Hey ho.

[Andy Collins]

I had a similar thing with laurel in a blanket tpo on a woodland, the T/O agreed that it needed management, and it was agreed to coppice the laurel, along with planting hazel and other understorey plants to enhance the amenity of the wood. The laurel in this case was leggy and imposing up to about 25feet high. Only the trees (by definition) were covered by the tpo, but with the nosey-parker brigade nearby panicking as soon as a saw starts, he wanted to know exactly what was going to be done so as to arm himself for the barrage of angry phone calls

[slack ma girdle]

You need to speak to somebody at either english nature or your local wildlife trust. They will be able to provide vast quantities of infomation about the negative effect of laurel in woodlands. You also need to approach your parish council to lnform them about what is proposed and to spreed the word to the local nimby's, so there will be less outrage at the damage to woodlands. Good luck

[Dean O]

I take it you mean someone who knows nothing about trees

yes planning control - not a clue about trees. i think he saw removal of a species as being a decline in biodiversity(ie number of species) therefor bad.... very simplistic way of looking at it i know.

 

 

would a tpo of this sort (where specific species are listed) have a min diameter for relevance - ie 70 mm?

 

 

as this guy is offering to do his bit at his own cost to increase the value of this little patch i dont see why they arent biting his arm off.

[Gordon]

what sort of size are these laurels?

 

The Act dictates that TPO "cannot be applied to bushes or shrubs". However for the purposes of TPO legislation , the high court has held that a "tree" is 'anything which ordinarily one would call a tree' !!!!

 

clear as mud i know but you may be able to argue the toss with them on that.

 

Alternatively, see if you can get the any FC grants on the wood - then the work would be exempt - might save your client a few quid too

 

OR talk directly to TO / landscape / ecology officer, with a bit of luck they might know what they talking about! Good luck!

[Amelanchier]

would a tpo of this sort (where specific species are listed) have a min diameter for relevance - ie 70 mm?

 

I'm afraid not. Recent case law has upheld the principle that even seedlings are protected within a Woodland Order.

 

You could submit a detailed scheme as part of an application indicating what will go back in after your removals - this allows your scheme to be conditioned and everyone should rest easy knowing that consideration has been given to the sustainability of the site.

 

Otherwise - like the knowledgable folks have already said, hunt down your TO.

[Dean O]

thanks guys - managed to speak to the TO today and thank god he understands my plight. got a meeting next week.

 

the option i was given by planning of plotting every individual cherry laure (no matter how small hence my mm diameter question) and then highlighting those to be removed from the plot had me banging my head against a wall.

 

we do a lot for the council particularly the biodiversity unit so i know that they will know what i'm getting at with this plan - but obviously i dont want to rub anyone up the wrong way - i just need to work out a way of ticking all the boxes.

i gues what planning control is looking for is a way of quantifying what we want to do there.

i shouldnt of had the assumption that everyone along the line would have an understanding of why we want to do what we want to do.

 

what really struck me about the site was firstly the number of gorgeous mature healthy trees but also that here were no sapplings. a shame to see so little regen.

[nepia]

what really struck me about the site was firstly the number of gorgeous mature healthy trees but also that here were no sapplings. a shame to see so little regen.

 

As I was reading your last post the question struck me could there be mileage in

offering some replanting in larger gaps left by removed laurels? If the man with the say listens to that one you may be able to push for more laurel removal than if you offered removal only. When you want something it's helps to offer something back.

I know of no benefit from untended laurels except to the odd bee when they're in flower!

 

Let us know the result...

[Arborist Sites]

If the TPO is new, put in an objction as said recent case law makes the application of woodland TPO's indefensible as in theory anybody walking through/using the woodland will be breaking the order.

 

There is a large list of woodland TPO's being wiped out due to this very reason.