Amend existing legislation to make public display of planning permission notices a compulsory part of the planning process for applications to carry out work on trees with Tree Protection Orders and in Local Conservation Areas.
Why is this important?
I believe that the public display of planning permission notices should be a compulsory part of the planning process for applications to carry out work on trees with Tree Protection Orders and in Local Conservation Areas.
At the moment there is no 'requirement' to display such public notices. This means that the first local people know of work to these special trees is when the work actually starts. This is likely to be long after the window of opportunity for comment as part of the planning process has passed.
I became aware of this issue recently when I was looking on our local planning authority website after hearing a rumour of tree work in our local park. It was only then that I found out that one of the trees to be felled was a much loved local Oak. The park is in a Conservation Area.
I felt devastated that it was already too late to have any input into the application. I hadn't known to look on the planning website beforehand to check on tree work as I had assumed any notices would be posted nearby as with other types of planning application.
I tried everything I could think of to save the tree but all to no avail.
I doesn't seem right to me that trees with supposedly protected status have so little protection in practice and I feel that others will also be shocked to learn that permission can be given to fell these special trees without consulting or even informing local people at all.
Please sign my petition to help protect our special trees for future generations and wildlife to enjoy.