Agenda item

To submit the report of Head of Regulatory Department. (copy enclosed)

LOCAL MEMBER:  Councillor R. H. Wyn Williams

Submitted - the report of the Head of Regulatory Department by the Enforcement Manager. It was noted that a temporary Order had been placed on four trees (two cypress and two fir trees) on land between Gilfach Goed and Gorse Bank, Lôn Pen Cei, Abersoch on 19 November 2015 following a visit and an assessment of the trees by an officer from the Council's Biodiversity Unit.

It was reported that the trees had scored higher than the required threshold for meriting a Tree Preservation Order.

Following a further assessment of the trees by an officer from the Biodiversity Unit, it was noted that the Planning Service was of the view that consideration should be given to omitting tree T2 from the final order as the tree was tilting across the adjacent site which had outline planning permission for a residential house.

Details were given of the objections received, referring to correspondence received after the report had been published.

Planning Officers considered that these objections did not outweigh the considerable contribution of the trees to the surrounding area's visual amenities and appearance, and their importance due to the lack of mature trees in the area. It was noted that it was recommended that the order should be confirmed with amendments, with the omission of tree T2 from the Schedule to the order itself.

It was noted that the members had four choices, namely:

·         to confirm the order as it stood, without amendments;

·         to confirm the order with amendments;

·         not to confirm the order; or

·         to conduct a public inquiry.

The local member, (not a member of this Planning Committee), noted that he had supported confirming the Order, but having received details about the objections from Gorse Bank's owner, he was of the view that the decision should be deferred in order to hold further discussions regarding the removal of the trees, and planting other trees to replace them.

In response, the Enforcement Manager noted that the Service was aware of the observations, but that there was nothing to convince them that the trees were hazardous.

During the ensuing discussion, the following main observations were noted by members:

·         It was important to protect the trees, and the order should be confirmed;

·         They were not species of trees which were indigenous to Wales and were therefore not important to the area;

·         The owners of the adjacent land that had received outline permission were aware of the existence of the trees prior to submitting the application;

·         The trees that were considered to be indigenous could change over time;

·         Whether the habitat where the trees were located was suitable for the trees' growth and could their condition be monitored?

·         The trees were prominent in the landscape and were part of Abersoch and therefore it was important to retain them.

In response to the above observations, the officers noted:-

·         That the trees had been assessed in accordance with recognised procedure;

·         It was the landowner's responsibility to maintain their condition, and the trees recommended for protection had scored 5 in relation to their condition, the highest score under the TEMPO system (Tree Evaluation Method for Preservation Orders).

RESOLVED to confirm the order with amendments, with the omission of tree T2 from the Schedule to the order itself.