Uprooting trees to build!?

starlite_2

The freeholder of our flat has just informed us that planning permission has been put in to build across the road from us and we should bring up any objections.
We have many..the main part being we are on a very busy road in London, and our flat faces one of the few green areas on the road. It is the gardens of a converted manor house which I understand contains 20 flats, but they are very set back from the road and there is a wide open space of grass.
The proposal is for a block of 12 flats, and retail units.
The thing is our current view is just trees (some of which are 100 years + old), and it's only in winter that we can see through.
As this proposal includes retail, and given the land area in question, I can only imagine they would have to remove the trees to go ahead. Is there any chance that this would be allowed?
i'm sure it would depreciate the local environment and of course the value of our flat,and it seems ludicrous someone would consider it.
Does anyone know about the laws regarding such things?

myrnahaz

When we told our old neighbour we were planning to build on our garden, he got an immediate preservation order put on 5 oak trees growing at the end of our garden (we didn't actually mind as we like the trees). I'm not sure exactly how he did this, but I think he rang the local council and their 'green' people did the rest. He was not well off, so there was probably no charge for this, I also think that it's not just oak trees, but any large or old trees can be preserved. I'm also pretty sure that it happens immediately, so you're not too late if the trees have not yet been cut down.

starlite_2

thanks for that, apparantly the application for permission is pending, and i would be very surprised if it was accepted anyway. all of our neighbours are vehemently against it too, so fingers crossed they will be declined.

myrnahaz

Don't leave it to chance. If you really don't want anyone to chop down the trees, ring the Council as soon as possible (or ask your most vehement neighbour to do it) so that they can put a preservation order on the trees because these developers won't stop applying just because they've been refused once.

There was some rough land at the back of my house that was refused planning 2 or 3 times, then, all of a sudden, a housing estate sprung up. We were only notified the first time permission was sought and we didn't think we needed to keep checking with the planning people in case someone else applied, so it was all a bit of a shock. Incidentally, a local councillor was the eventual winner of the planning permission (surprise!)

odowdchr

First thing you should do is go to the Planning offices and take a look at the proposed plans....you'll be able to see if the trees are on the finished plans or not.
If the trees are not protected your "green people" might send somebody out to serve a preservation order right away (they can do this on the spot and it is 'free').....although if the trees are in the way of any potential building, any sharp developer would have checked before he submitted his planning application, then whipped the trees out at the earliest opportunity if they weren't protected but were in the way of a new building.... :eek:
(the only reason they might not have done this is if the 'developer' doesn't yet own the land and is testing a planning application before he commits to buying the land...so it's worth ringing up the Council quickly).

Sometimes however, trees which look fantastic and are very old aren't suitable for preservation, for instance if they're coming to the end of their natural life, or have got some sort of trunk rot or disease which isn't visible to the naked eye. If that's the case, a Planning Authority usually allows the felling of the trees providing that new trees are planted as part of any new development. Trouble is, it takes years before they're big enough to have a real effect on the views.

starlite_2

we live in a conservation area, surely that would mean the trees are already protected?

myrnahaz

starlite wrote:

we live in a conservation area, surely that would mean the trees are already protected?

It could well be that they are already protected, which is why (as Odowchr said) they haven't already chopped down the trees. Also, it's probably a money spinner if the developer was to sell houses with mature trees already in place.

starlite_2

Hmm...well as i tried to describe before, the land is the grounds of a manor house, which is split into many flats and set back from the road, then there is a lawn and the trees are by the roadside within the property boundary walls. as the application is for a block of flats and retail units I cannot imagine anyone (not least the people living in the manor house!) would be happy with a block of flats plonked in the middle of their lawn, and it would make the retail units fairly unnapealing as they wouldn't be visible from the road.
It's all very confusing, but our neighbour has requested full details from the council so we should find out soon.
I also have a feeling that in London trees are even more protected than usual, as therer aren't many of them!