Tree's saved!
McRazz
Posts: 378
We live within the Ashdown Forest AONB in East Sussex just outside a town with a very bad reputation for over development.
Recently an out of town landowner decided that it was time to remove all of the mature trees that border our property, presumably to jump on the development bandwagon whilst our towns local plan is in limbo. (I should add the landowner is a Conservative councillor who stood on a mandate as a 'sustainability champion' - you can't make it up)
Before we could act 4 spectacular Quercus Robur were felled and in an instant our little semi-detached cottage was moved from a rural, wooded environment to effectively an exposed field.
Fortunately the tenants that rented the plot from the landowner stopped the tree surgeons from doing any further damage, but not before he spitefully girdled a 5th oak and left.
Anyway, long story short, a group consisting of ourselves and our neighbours wrote to the local tree officer who popped over within days and placed a temporary TPO on the whole site to prevent any further works. To say he was horrified is an understatement - In fact he called the tree surgeon there and then and gave him a dressing down for girdling a healthy tree and for allegedly exceeding his yearly felling quota!
Unfortunately the damage had already mostly been done, however there were still 3 Oaks and 2 Birches that remained within the vicinity of our property. Needless to say we immediately requested that a specific order be placed on these particular trees.
6 months later and despite representations from the landowner the order has been ratified and we can now enjoy the trees that are left for years to come!
Faith in the system restored, when it works, however more questions than answers - How is it that somebody can effectively just fell an entire wood of spectacular trees on a whim?!
Has anybody else ever had a similar experience?
Recently an out of town landowner decided that it was time to remove all of the mature trees that border our property, presumably to jump on the development bandwagon whilst our towns local plan is in limbo. (I should add the landowner is a Conservative councillor who stood on a mandate as a 'sustainability champion' - you can't make it up)
Before we could act 4 spectacular Quercus Robur were felled and in an instant our little semi-detached cottage was moved from a rural, wooded environment to effectively an exposed field.
Fortunately the tenants that rented the plot from the landowner stopped the tree surgeons from doing any further damage, but not before he spitefully girdled a 5th oak and left.
Anyway, long story short, a group consisting of ourselves and our neighbours wrote to the local tree officer who popped over within days and placed a temporary TPO on the whole site to prevent any further works. To say he was horrified is an understatement - In fact he called the tree surgeon there and then and gave him a dressing down for girdling a healthy tree and for allegedly exceeding his yearly felling quota!
Unfortunately the damage had already mostly been done, however there were still 3 Oaks and 2 Birches that remained within the vicinity of our property. Needless to say we immediately requested that a specific order be placed on these particular trees.
6 months later and despite representations from the landowner the order has been ratified and we can now enjoy the trees that are left for years to come!
Faith in the system restored, when it works, however more questions than answers - How is it that somebody can effectively just fell an entire wood of spectacular trees on a whim?!
Has anybody else ever had a similar experience?
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
and when they're required to replace the tree its usually something like replacing a 250 year old oak with an 18-20cm girth field maple that eventually dies through neglect.
I should know, the local authorities have asked me to tender for the works on more than one occasion, which is always politely declined.
I'm pleased that the others have been saved.
We measured the stumps and one tree was nearly 300 years old and the others were well over 100, so not small scrubby undergrowth by any measure!
The tree surgeon has been blacklisted by the local tree officer and i believe under investigation from the Forestry Commission (but i'm told that very rarely leads to prosecution, unfortunately).
Its the speculative element of the whole exercise that upsets me; indiscriminate removal of trees in the belief that you 'might' get planning approval. And if not? Just shrug your shoulders and walk off, after all you don't live in the area so are unaffected by your destructive actions.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
The fact that you describe what's likely to happen re that tree surgeon says it all.
Hopefully, the remaining trees will be exactly that - remaining.
As @Dovefromabove says - @fidgetbones had a really horrible situation a while ago, in the same vein.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We have our first born due in April and i'm looking forward to being able to teach them about the importance of the trees we have left and how its our duty to protect them for the next generation.
The saddest thing of all is that this behaviour is no longer surprising
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...