Agenda item

The Senior Planning Officer introduced the report with the aid of a powerpoint presentation.  She provided the following update:

·        Further comments and documents submitted by the objector had been circulated to all members prior to the committee meeting.  The comments and documents were in addition to previous comments the objector had made which were discussed in the committee report.  The further comments from the objector reiterated some of the points raised within their initial comments regarding why the applicant wished to undertake works to trees within the grounds of their property.  The reasons included:

-       for maintenance purposes,

-       to improve access to the property and

-       to reduce shading to the garden.

·        The objector had sought further comments from Dendra Consulting Ltd who had concluded that only the trees which were identified as "definitely" meriting a Tree Preservation Order should form part of the provisional Tree Preservation Order and not the trees which were identified as "possibly" meriting a Tree Preservation Order.

·        There were also some disagreements regarding the scoring.  The further comments from the objector had been reviewed by the Arboricultural Consultant of Tilia Tree Consultancy Services, who had undertaken the assessment on behalf of the Council.  However, these additional comments did not change the overall recommendation to confirm the Tree Preservation Order subject to modifications.

The Senior Planning Officer explained that whilst the provisional Tree Preservation Order (TPO) had been for the whole area, it was proposed that this be modified to 25 individually specified trees and 5 groups of trees within this site.

In response to questions from Members the following information was provided:-

·        The modification of the TPO would exclude shrubs and other vegetation on the site.

·        It was necessary to seek permission for work to prune or remove trees in a Conservation Area.  However, a TPO also enabled replacement planting to be secured.

·        Whilst some of the groups of trees included Cypress and were described as possibly meriting a TPO, they played an important role in the setting of the public realm and contributed significantly to the amenity of the wider area and.  A TPO would enable additional planting to be secured for a more diverse range of trees.

·        The planning application which had led to the assessment had proposed that 32 trees be felled and pruning of two others.  This would have been a loss of approximately one third of the trees on the site and the application had been refused.

·        There was no fee to make an application or give notice to prune or remove a tree protected by a TPO.

·        Members were required to confirm the order or refuse it.  The order could not be amended at this stage to only include some of the identified trees or groups and exclude others.  If the TPO was not confirmed and members requested that the order be reviewed, the trees would not be protected.

Councillor Hutchinson moved the recommendation to confirm provisional order 2022 (No. 02 of 2022) subject to modifications to protect 25 individually specified trees (T1-T25) and 5 groups of trees (G1-G5) within the site at Murrayfield, Allendale Road, Hexham.  This was seconded by Councillor Morphet.

Upon being put to the vote the results were as follows: -

FOR: 6; AGAINST: 4; ABSTENTION: 0.

RESOLVED that the Northumberland County Council (Land at Murrayfield, Allendale Road, Hexham, Northumberland) Tree Preservation Order 2022 (No. 02 of 2022), be confirmed.