biscuit156

I might just do that - As some have said, the information is all public domain and I have spent some time looking at the information via the LA website but this is a big development and there is a lot of information. There was huge local opposition to this all happening and as such, lots of documents. The pdf's on the planning portal are also not searchable making it almost impossible to find reference to the TPO despite knowing it has been raised several times. I contacted the developer early on during the works when they lopped a couple of smaller branches off to remind them of the TPO and was told they were fully aware of the TPO!

Hi All Original poster here and the tree owner. Five days are receiving a mail from the Arboricultural Co-ordinator (Planning and Development - Tree Team) acknowledging my concern about the trench/roots etc, raising the issue of the fungal brackets and saying it was being invesitaged, I then received a mail from Planning saying they were closing the file. After sign off on the initial mail from the Arboricultural Co-ordinator she seemed to leave some information I think she meant to delete - it read "I note the tree has some fungal fruiting brackets on the stem and this is indicative of decay within. The owners should get their tree inspected to determine the extent of decay and whether the fracture safety of the tree is compromised. At the very least the decay will have reduced the trees safe useful life expectancy. However, the root severance works will have caused additional harm such that the tree may now need to be removed for safety reasons. I will let the tree owner know about the decay, but I also think we should take this apparent 'offence' further with the developer, possibly a PACE interview on site" We then went onto receive the following mail from the Enforcement Officer, Development Control, Planning & Property Services: I have had the time to review both the works on site and the permitted landscaping scheme for the Boulters Meadow development. Although it would appear than condition 18 11/02432 may not have been executed in the correct manner, it would be very difficult to prosecute this as the landscaping scheme being implemented has superseded this. The position and heights of the fencing are also acceptable in line with the landscaping. The works to the tree have been to facilitate this and as such are exempt by virtue of being approved under a planning consent. I am closing the file. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me. Our initial thought was great - we get to keep our tree. No hassle. Then the concern over whether damage has actually occurred but by closing the file, mistakes made by planning get swept under the carpet and we're then held liable should the tree fail or should the people moving into the homes where the tree substantially hangs over their garden start complaining about it, we'll have to remove it based on the fundal brackets argument !!!! aargh I am also going to have a chat with my neighbour who has been living in his house a lot longer than we have ours- He went to all the local meetings that were held early on during the planning stages and he keeps saying that the TPO on our tree was a hot topic - so I'm going to see if he can shed any light on documentation that might mention this tree. Definitely not happy just to close the file. Suspicious of that one..... Someone asked earlier if the tree looks great in the summer. It looks amazing. Absolutely stunning, I'll try and find a photo. Just feel like we're between a rock and a hard place but whatever happens now I do think we definitely need an expert opinion on the stability of the tree.

Sorry - I am the original poster here and haven't lost interest - Christmas just got in the way! I'm now reading through everyone's comments. Some I understand, others I don't and I hadn't quite realised what a stir this has caused! The brackets do look really new and fresh and as I think I may have mentioned at some point, I don't recall seeing them there in the summer and only picked up on them when we started to monitor works that were taking place so close to the tree later this year. I won't reply to everyone's comments, but want to thank everyone for their input. The thread re libel content etc - I think the advice/comments provided by everyone have/will all be taken as 'advice' - not the law and I certainly wouldn't go quoting you all (although there are snippets of advice which will be para-phrased if need be) or referring back to see who gave me the info. We now need to sit down and decide the next steps we take re this as I did actually receive an email from planning just before the Xmas break saying they were closing the file. I'll dig out the mail and post the response but I'm definitely not happy to leave things as they are. The sudden change of mind by them makes me feel very suspicious and uneasy. Thanks again and I will post the info Planning sent once I find the mail!

Thank you all for your input - must say I'm a bit confused (although you all seem to know your stuff!!) and have already resigned myself to the fact it's probably going to go. If I'm honest, I always thought it would as it's so clearly always been an issue for the development and as a few have hinted... by damaging the roots, he'll get a smack on the wrists, maybe a little fine (the Developer has been done for this before) and that'll be about it. That said, I won't let it go lightly and will pursue - whether we'll get compensated is another matter I guess. Would much prefer our tree than a little pay off though! I just don't understand the point of TPO's though!! Paul - thanks for your private message and I have been in contact with planning already re the Clauses you mentioned and will let you know how I get on!

This is definitely not the case... as I say, a trench was dug alongside the trunk and the driver of the digger wasn't even aware of a TPO !!!

The tree has always been a bit of a problem for them and I always anticipated some problems. Why they ever had to build so close I have no idea, especially with this TPO. Damage it, and it'll have to be pulled down for H&S - developer pays a fine and gets his own way!

I will have a look and see what I have - to be honest, I'm not sure I do have

Thanks for your reply and interest in this. Re the trench - Unfortunately I didn't get photos when the trench was dug. When it was dug, I contacted the tree dept to convey my concerns as my neighbour mentioned the roots were all exposed and had been cut (he has been spending a lot of time keeping an eye on the project but as I have two small children I've not been so able to). My neighbour and my husband spoke to the workmen and told them about the TPO and they all said they had not been informed and had simply been asked to dig the trench along a certain line, which they did. Weirdly, the trench was filled in pretty sharply after that (hence no photos) - however, I do have a photo which will show you how close to the tree it was (you can see they tyre marks which indicates where it was) and also a couple of photo's showing some of the root damage. With regards to knowing the site address etc - of course, I'd love you to take a look and see what the deal was - is this something I can post on here? Obviously that'll highlight the Developer etc and I don't want to get into slander etc. Do you have an email address I can send it to? Finally - what would be a rough cost for such a survey and valuation?? Appreciate it differs but I haven't got a clue !!! Many many thanks

Thank you for your quick responses - as you can all appreciate we feeling angry about it all (especially as we've had to ensure years of remediation on the site, building work and now this!!) - here's a couple of photo's I took today. You can see how close they've put their fence to our tree.

HELP !!! We have a huge Horse Chestnut (with a TPO) in our garden in Berkshire which has always sat on our border with an adjacent empty field. Developers are now building on this land very close to the border and despite references to the TPO in planning etc, houses have been built very close to it. As part of the work (which is almost complete now) they dug a trench up close to the tree which severed some of the roots. I immediately contacted my Council Tree dept and have today received notification from the Planning and Development - Tree Team. They have noted, the severance to the roots may have damaged the tree and they are investigating further and looking at whether the tree may now need to come down for safety reasons. As you can appreciate, we're furious - the tree is stunning, the environmental impact of cutting such a huge tree down, as well as our loss of privacy (we thought the TPO meant it was safe!). They also mention the fact the on the trunk of the tree there is 'fungal brackets in a tiered formation with cream undersides' which may also have an affect on the stability of the tree and have suggested we employ and arboriculturist to give us a detailed inspection to ensure the 'fracture safety of the tree is not compromised'. and 'at the very least the decay will have reduced the trees safe useful life expectancy' There isn't much fungi (I took a photo which I could post on here) - can anyone offer any advice?? We just don't have the funds to employ anyone to report but feel we need to prove that the fungi isn't affecting the stability of the tree (or is it?) !! We're up against a well know Developer who tends to get what he wants so we need to arm ourselves with as much info as possible ! I'm at a loss as to what to do !! Any help/advice much appreciated !!