Confirming TPO's

[Gary Prentice]

Good plan. Make a formal complaint to the council as well; that will typically be investigated by a different department. You might want to point out that the Local Government Ombudsman takes a dim view of maladministration (see LGO complaints 01/B/15370 and 06/B/16269).

 

You might also wonder if they would agree that the local rags would relish the "faceless bureaucrats mislead elderly couple" angle?

 

I like your thinking. My next step was the heads of Legal and Planning, with the Ombudsman after that.

[common lime]

What's peoples experience with LPA's and confirming TPO's. I've an ongoing situation where the planning department failed to confirm an order after six months, twice refused consent to fell (when the tree wasn't legally protected) and then confirmed the order six years later.

 

The longest period I can find before confirmation is thirteen years:001_rolleyes:,

Anyone have any knowledge about a precedent for testing the legality of the order?

 

To my view, given the length of time involved, interested parties may have changed and had no opportunity to object as the planning department were mis-informing everyone.

 

Thoughts?

 

The Council by determining not one but two tree work applications for trees protected by a TPO when there was no valid statutory controls on the tree. Is in my opinion maladministration by the Council of the TPO regulations and not within keeping with the recommendations within the 'Blue Book' section 6.44. There are few things that I would recommended these are as follows;

 

1. The client should check if they have legal cover on the house hold insurance.

 

2. The client should contact his/her local Councillor and or MP

 

3. The client or you should write a letter to the Chief Planning Officer ccing the local Councillor and MP about the Council determining two application. Thus on the two occasion paying out for tree works that would not have been necessary if the tree had been felled on the first occasion. Your client should use the words recovery, undue stress, maladministration and ombudsman. Sending in copies of the decision notices that the Council issued on the non-confirmed TPO thus it was not valid at the time.

 

4. At the same time make an application to fell the tree offer to replant a new tree this makes your client look reasonable.

 

5. Client should consider small claims court to recovery the cost ot tree works against cost of removing tree for determining the two application when the Council has no powers to do so.

 

Action like these by Councils make me really mad I am currently covering a TO post were the old TO regularly did this sort of thing. I have had some very strained and odd phone calls to neighbours asking why they had to make an TPO application in the past were I have recently told their neighbouring the Councils has no TPO therefore no application is required.

 

More maladministration of the TPO regulations that comes to light can only improve the very poor database system that some Councils still have. Also it should incourage Councils to employ TOs and Arb Officer who know the Regulations and what they are doing!

[Gary Prentice]

Some interesting points Common Lime. I've already received a refusal, gone to appeal (at the T.o's suggestion) and been dismissed. I have no arguement with that and have to agree that arboriculturally there are no real problems with this ash. Its a large tree, 3m from the property, adjacent to a retaining wall which it has caused to collapse.

 

I explained the legal implications to a local councillor. The TO had mentioned that the council could repair the wall FOC and the councillor pursued that. Thats been completed this week. The TO has already admitted, privately, that the tree's outgrown its context but is still adament it stays.

 

My client is unfortunately quite ill at present, so I'm having to put this on hold for the moment until I receive further instruction to continue. I think I've a fair chance that if I cause enough fuss we will at least get a new order, just to make me go away.

[woodrep]

lack of confirmation for six years means that there is challenge.Firstly as the legislation is package with timetable at this extreme your clients right of appeal has been usurped ,secondly the consent given is tree specific and providedit is not time limited it can be carried out.Provided the tpo was not done using April 2012 docs .Which is unlikely if it is just a confirmation.PS the 2012 regs will not stand up in court for human rights reasons

[Amelanchier]

lack of confirmation for six years means that there is challenge.Firstly as the legislation is package with timetable at this extreme your clients right of appeal has been usurped ,secondly the consent given is tree specific and providedit is not time limited it can be carried out.Provided the tpo was not done using April 2012 docs .Which is unlikely if it is just a confirmation.PS the 2012 regs will not stand up in court for human rights reasons

 

Zombie thread.

 

Anyway, the 2012 regs now supersede the historic mish mash - the upshot being that if a TPO is not confirmed after six months it can never be confirmed; a new order must be served.

 

I'd be interested to hear about the conflict with human rights; mainly because planning tends to trump human rights at every turn.

[woodrep]

Look in the book down loadable from the planning portal Tree preservation orders :A guide to law and good practice . After 6 months the have to do the whole thing afresh. page 12

[woodrep]

Not true However until we get a Billionair builder who wants to permanently piss off every civil servant planner and town council in the UK its not likely to happen is it