Planning Permission Tips UK - Trees and How They Can Affect Development when Applying for Planning


Like most folk, I believe that more can be achieved in life by open & transparent negotiation - laying ones cards on the table for a reciprocal arrangement & courtesy. Unfortunately, like most things in life, there will be times when one side will try & gain the advantage at the detriment of the other party using this method. Nothing is more relevant to this fact in Planning issues than TREES on or near a site that you want to develop or extend.

I had an historic situation where a prime site ripe for an infill plot had a bank of protected trees on its rear boundary. In the middle of the garden was one sole Walnut tree of mature height that was not protected. Research at the Planning Offices revealed that it was only protected by a very obscure & old Planning Condition back in the sixties for the original estate that required all mature trees on the site to be retained (non were specifically identified).

The options of how to play this when entering into pre-application negotiations with the Planning Dept. were put to the client which entailed either taking a chance & removing the tree now to expose the plot for an obvious new dwelling but at the risk of having to incur some sort of costs for Planning rectification measures or leave the site as it is & start talking to the Planners. The client did not want to take the risk so we left the site unaltered.

Upon entering into sketch scheme designs & negotiations with a Case Planning Officer & their 'new' urban design team it soon became clear that the Planners were resistant to a property on this site mainly for siting issues (not the trees) but our approaches to the Councils Tree Officers were unusually non-responsive. After 4 weeks of messages & non-returned calls I was eventually told that the Walnut tree had now been issued with a Tree preservation order (TPO) without any form of discussion from them. Even half expecting this as the 'worst case scenario' it was still very shocking & upsetting to find that your trust of fair play in the system had been well & truly shat on. Also, that a perfectly good site had now received another layer of problems to overcome. It was also clear that 'internal events' had taken place between all sections of the Planning Dept. in order prevent development on this site due to the initial negative response from the Case Planning Officer.

I wouldn't want to go so far as to indicate that 'dark powers were at work' but it is clear that in the close knit 'chummy' atmosphere of the Council Offices, Planners & other consultation specialists had conspired together to form a united front against development on this site even though we had tried to negotiate separately on the tree issue.

The conclusion to all this is clear - Don't trust any part of the Planning system during pre-application negotiations when trees are involved. On this particular site we had now entered into an adversarial position not of our own making. We would have been no better of if we had simply removed the tree first & argued about the legality of this action afterwards after all it was not formally protected. You can understand why some arrogant developers do this - Honesty & openness simply doesn't pay when dealing with some aspects of Planning.

Our 'Maximum Build Planning Guide' explains this tree issue in more detail & sets out various risk assessment procedures that you can incorporate within your scheme when dealing with trees. I would not advocate removing any trees from a site until you have accurately identified the problem areas - some trees on a site will actually assist your Planning application so an overall assessment & the formation of a plan is vital if you are to avoid further TPO's being applied to your site. The TPO route is one of the best tools Planners have in preventing your development - it's fairly quick to implement, it's in-house & it's secretive until the day the order is placed - you have been warned. Planning permision and planning approval.

http://www.planning-approval.co.uk







Related News



Sector roundup: Solar, home improvement - Forbes

Sector roundup: Solar, home improvement
Forbes, NY -Nov 19, 2008
CHICAGO (AP) - Shares of home improvement chains dipped Wednesday after the federal government said construction of new homes and apartments slowed at a ...

Economic Downturn Sparks New Home Improvement Trend - MarketWatch

Economic Downturn Sparks New Home Improvement Trend
MarketWatch -Nov 18, 2008
With the harsh reality of uncertain economic times, and the average consumer shouldering $10000 or more in credit card debt, a new trend in home improvement...

THE GOODS ON HOME IMPROVEMENT: A sturdy shovel for winter's fury - Lancaster Newspapers (registration)

THE GOODS ON HOME IMPROVEMENT: A sturdy shovel for winter's fury
Lancaster Newspapers (registration), PA -17 hours ago
By ALAN J. HEAVENS / McClatchy-Tribune, Correspondent It's never too early to think about snow removal — more than a few flakes fell in the Poconos recently ...

AG Van Hollen: Home improvement company and owner charged with ... - Wisbusiness.com

AG Van Hollen: Home improvement company and owner charged with ...
Wisbusiness.com, WI -Nov 19, 2008
The complaint alleges that in November, 2005 defendants entered into a $55250 home improvement contract with a Menasha couple promising, among other things, ...

Home improvement retail sinks on data - Forbes

The Associated Press

Home improvement retail sinks on data
Forbes, NY -Nov 19, 2008
AP , 11.19.08, 03:13 PM EST Shares of home improvement chains dipped Wednesday after the federal government said construction of new homes and apartments ...
How home improvement chains fared in 3rd quarterThe Associated Press
Home Depot Posts 31% Fall in Net Income, Cuts ViewWall Street Journal
Tough economy takes toll on Home DepotAtlanta Journal Constitution
CNNMoney.com - Bloomberg
all 529 news articles

Raven Industries Announces Higher Sales and Earnings for Third Quarter - MarketWatch

RTT News

Raven Industries Announces Higher Sales and Earnings for Third Quarter
MarketWatch -Nov 19, 2008
"These include lower levels of new home construction and home improvements negatively affecting our bed-control deliveries, and the loss of a significant ...
The Home Depot Announces Third Quarter ResultsEarthtimes (press release)
Raven Industries Announces Higher Sales and Earnings for Third QuarterSunHerald.com
Patrick Industries, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2008 Financial ...PR-CANADA.net (press release)
Earthtimes (press release)
all 423 news articles

Ahead of the Bell: Home improvement retailers - Forbes

Ahead of the Bell: Home improvement retailers
Forbes, NY -Nov 19, 2008
The home improvement retailers are part of a sector that has "competitive dynamics, stable gross margins through the downturn, and clear cyclicality ...
Home Depot Is Not in a FixBarron's
all 6 news articles

The Home Depot Declares Third Quarter Dividend of 22.5 Cents - MarketWatch

The Home Depot Declares Third Quarter Dividend of 22.5 Cents
MarketWatch -12 hours ago
The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2270 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, ...


The Home Depot Declares Third Quarter Dividend of 22.5 Cents - La Voz de Dalton

The Home Depot Declares Third Quarter Dividend of 22.5 Cents
La Voz de Dalton, GA -9 hours ago
The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2270 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, ...
The Home Depot Declares Third Quarter Dividend of 22.5 CentsPR Newswire (press release)
all 13 news articles

Kudzu.com Survey Reveals DIY Projects Are an Unreliable Way to ... - MarketWatch

Kudzu.com Survey Reveals DIY Projects Are an Unreliable Way to ...
MarketWatch -Nov 19, 2008
In fact, one in four (25%) Americans have hired a professional to fix or finish a home improvement project they first attempted themselves. ...