Court issues £3.8k bill after protected Walsall trees are removed
A tree surgeon who removed three limes protected by a tree preservation order in Walsall has been handed a court bill of more than £800 - while the property owner has been ordered to pay more than £3,000.
A concerned resident told tree surgeon Clement Kidney that the trees were covered by a tree preservation order, but he carried on removing them, Walsall Magistrates Court was told.
Kidney, trading as Town and Country Tree Surgeons, of Acocks Green in Birmingham, pleaded guilty to removing the trees from Wesleyan Court, Lichfield Road in Walsall, without the formal consent of Walsall Council.
The 64-year-old was fined £300 and ordered to pay court costs of £500 and a £35 victim surcharge.
Property owner AH Field (Holdings) Ltd, of Bath Row, Birmingham, also entered a guilty plea and was fined £2,000.
Magistrates also ordered the property owner to pay costs of £1,107 and a victim surcharge of £120.
They told the court that more care should have been taken by the tree surgeon to ensure the limes were protected and that the company should have had better procedures in place.
Council chiefs have said the authority would not hesitate to prosecute anyone who breached tree preservation orders.
Walsall's environment and transport chief, Councillor Lee Jeavons said: "Trees are an important part of our local environment and the council is committed to protecting them through the use of tree preservation orders.
"We thank the local resident who tried to intervene and subsequently brought this matter to our attention so we could investigate.
"We will not hesitate to prosecute in these circumstances although it could have so easily been avoided if the tree surgeon had contacted the council to check whether a preservation order was in force."
Removing protected trees is an offence under the Town and Country Planning Act which can carry a maximum penalty of £20,000 if heard at a magistrates court.
When cases are heard in the crown court, the fine can be unlimited.
Under the same act, anyone who prunes a protected tree without consent can be fineed of up to £2,500.
The council said it will look to have the three limes replaced within the tree preservation order before the current planting season ends in late March.
