TPO_EL11-46 - NAPS - 020412.pdf - Elmbridge Borough Council

APPENDIX 1
Report Prepared by the Council’s Tree Officer
Background
The tree s a re 3 significant Oa k situated a djacent to the western bo undary of the yard of Je wson
Limited, 2 Terrace Road, Walton on Thames, Surrey, KT12 2ST.
It is appreciated that although these trees are within the bounds of a busy builders’ merchant yard, all
three o ak tre es a re matu re and p rominent in the la ndscape an d as such the y provide a significa nt
amenity to members of the public, visitors to the site and the wider environment. The TPO was made
because it was considered that the tre es were under threat fro m some form of pruni ng, which might
have prejudiced their health and the amenity provided. It is pertin ent to point o ut that all these tre es
existed at this location prior to the TPO and all the objector’s points applied before it was made.
Objection
1. ALL TREES IMPEDING ACCESS – THE OB JECTOR STATE S THAT THE TREES ARE
GROWING INTO THE YARD BY SEVERAL ME TRES AND WILL INCREASINGLY IMPE DE
THE ABILITY OF VE HICLES TO MA NOEUVRE SAFELY, CAUS ING A SAFE TY RISK FOR
STAFF, CUSTOMERS AND BUILDINGS
Council comments
A TPO removes some of the owner’s common law rights regarding works to trees, however by
a system of appli cation some wo rks such as crown lifting to i ncrease the clearance from
ground level might be considered app ropriate and i n the b est in terests of tre e health and
consequently tree safety. Furthe rmore pre-appl ication advice is readily avai lable from a
member of the Tree Section.
2. Largest oak in Group G1 – Th e objector mentions that there is a snack bar situated under
the crown of this tree a nd that customers or staff might be at risk from falling b ranches. The
objector also requested assurance that the tree poses no threat.
Council comments
Whilst the Coun cil cannot give an assuran ce of safety certain works such as the removal of
dead wood can be carried out as an exemption to normal controls. However any tree owner is
advised to seek qualified advice regarding trees and this is best sought from a n arboricultural
consultant wi th recogni zed crede ntials. A list of locally ba sed consultants was sent to the
objector and is available on the tree pages of the Council website.
3. Leaves/residue dama ging mate rials – The obj ector p oints out that buil ding pro ducts are
stored/displayed within th e yard. The falling leave s and residue could damage the quality of
the materials and that thi s is a p resent and increasing phenomenon. The o bjector wishes to
cut back the trees significantly.
Council comments
All these tre es p re-existed the TPO a nd as stated above advice may be so ught from th e
Council regarding the possibilit y of appropriate works, which would not be damaging to t ree
health. Some ill-advi sed, severe tree works could precipitate i ncipient we aknesses by th e
production of insecure gro wths an d de cay fo stering future damage to b uilding sto ck stored
nearby. These tree s offer a high de gree of amenity and it is con sidered that there a re other
ways of lessening their impact such as re-organising the yard.
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