Residents applaud council meeting’s decision to protect dozens of trees
Residents have welcomed a council decision to protect dozens of trees from the chop in their town after the move was challenged by a housing developer.
More than 50 people packed into a Stafford Borough Council meeting where an agent acting on behalf of Taylor Wimpey objected to the authority’s plans to confirm a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) protecting trees on land between Shaws Lane and Kerry Lane in Eccleshall.
When committee members confirmed the TPO would remain in place residents at the meeting broke into a round of applause.
The house builder has previously expressed an interest in the site, which is currently owned by the Lichfield Diocese and a local farmer. In April an arboricultural consultancy asked for information about the presence of TPOs on the site.
A report to Stafford Borough Council’s public appeals committee, which considered the TPO on Friday, said: “This combined with anecdotal evidence arising from conversations with local residents, regarding previous intentions by some of the land owners to develop the site, led to further investigations. A land registry search revealed that the volume house builder Taylor Wimpey has a registered interest in the land.
“The council tree officer, Gavin Pearce, conducted a site visit and found a number of tree groups and individual specimens on site of significant value within the local landscape. These trees would present a constraint to potential future development, though not a prohibitive one.
“In circumstances such as this trees are often at increased risk of removal as it is sometimes considered desirable to reduce potential on site constraints to a minimum. Therefore Tree Preservation Order No. 624 of 2019 was created in order to ensure the retention of the trees until such a point that they can be given full consideration as part of any potential future planning application.”
But agent Avison Young objected to the confirmation of the current TPO on behalf of Taylor Wimpey.
Stephanie Eastwood from Avison Young told Friday’s meeting: “Taylor Wimpey has had an agreement with the owners to promote the land for residential development since December 2018. It is an 11 hectare (27.2 acre) area of five agricultural fields with a number of trees.
“My client’s objection is to the current TPO’s blanket protection of all trees on the site, regardless of their quality or amenity value. It doesn’t object in principle to a TPO with respect to a group of trees or individual trees.
“It is not considered expedient to make an order in this case. While Taylor Wimpey has had an interest in the land since December 2018 there is no immediate risk to the site.
“It is promoting the site in the emerging Local Plan, which is at an early stage. Taylor Wimpey has not applied for planning permission for residential development on the site.”
Eccleshall Parish Council strongly objected to the potential removal of the current TPO in a letter submitted to the borough council.
Borough councillor Jeremy Pert, who represents the Eccleshall area, also spoke against the removal of the current TPO, as did several town residents who highlighted the importance of the trees to people and wildlife.
