No extra safeguards for protected trees despite recommendation of 'Lessons of Bretton Oak Tree' report

A new report detailing the lessons that can be learnt from the felling of the Bretton Oak Tree in June is to be presented to the Cabinet of Peterborough City Council.

The Climate Change and Environment Scrutiny Committee has recommended the report’s proposed refinements to the existing Trees and Woodland Strategy be implemented- apart from one key level of protection for trees that have a Tree Preservation Orders (TPO).

The report had recommended that all applications to fell council-owned trees subject to a TPO be referred to the city’s planning committee- as was not the case during the fight to save the Bretton Oak, despite the wish of campaigners and several councillors.

The committee has decided not to recommend making this change to the cabinet and instead rely on the existing procedures in place.

The report was commissioned after the council spent £49,000 to fell the tree after a more than year-long battle with campaigners who attempted to save the tree.

It revealed that over the last seven years, claims of tree-related subsidence amounting to £1.13m had been proven against the council.

The council has maintained that felling is the simplest, cheapest and most proven way of dealing with the ‘nuisance’ and that costs of between £5 and £10m could have been incurred if alternative options were pursued.

That figure has meant that “trees currently pose the single most significant insurance liability to Peterborough City Council (I.e., a greater risk, for example, than that posed by highways).”

The actions recommended to amend the council’s tree management policy were:

· Greater transparency of evidence submitted to substantiate claims – Request consent to publish the evidence that insurers have gathered to prove their claim against the council.

· Refer felling of any TPO council-owned trees to the Planning and Environmental Protection Committee – This would allow a public consultation into all proposed fellings of TPO council-owned trees, allow members of the public to speak in the public domain and hand over the decision to a cross-party committee. (not be put before cabinet)

· Give more information on the age and value of the tree to the population – To communicate the approximate age of the tree and its nationally recognised Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT) value as a public asset.

· Develop a banding system to assess the community value of trees – The proposed process (high, medium or low value) has been developed according to the capital asset valuation of tree stock.

High-value trees would follow the current consultation protocol - however, insurers would be asked if alternative approaches would be considered.

A broader council budget could also be used for this, however, spending would need to be prioritised as this is also used for essential services, such as bin collections, education and social care for both adults and young people.

The Cabinet will vote on the proposed changes on Monday (October 17).

The report can be viewed in full on Peterborough City Council’s website.