Tree removals and removal requests for insurance or building damage reasons
Dear Newham Borough Council,
Trees that are near buildings are often threatened by requests for removal. These requests normally come from homeowners or property owners or their insurance companies after trees are alleged to be causing damage. In many cases these trees pre-date the buildings that are being affected.
I would like to understand more about how this issue affects your local authority and the trees you are responsible for (i.e, you are responsible for maintaining, or are on your land, owned by you, etc).
In particular, I would like to know, over the past 10 years:
- The locations of trees removed by your authority due to property or infrastructure damage, ideally accompanied by their species and the date of removal where possible (locations via GIS data, What3Words, OS coordinates, or addresses as you find easiest)
- How many of/which of these trees were removed due to claims or requests from insurance companies
- How much the council paid to remove each tree (if this can be attributed per removal, or how much the council spent on tree removal each financial year if not)
- How much the council paid out in insurance claims for tree damage to properties (individual claim values preferred, but an aggregate value may be acceptable if the council considers the individual values to be exempt from disclosure)
- The number of trees where removal has been requested, but was either refused, an alternative solution found, or the situation is still ongoing; any breakdown that can be provided (similar to above, e.g, species and location) would be appreciated
Please follow the following principles when considering this request:
- Data at an individual tree level is preferred, but where you consider this can't be disclosed due to commercial or legal agreements (e.g, insurance claims, contractor works) then aggregate data either annually or (worst case) over the whole period may be acceptable
- Some data is better than no data; for example, if data is only available for the last 5 years then that is better than refusing the request
Given this is a request about trees, this request falls under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) rather than FOI. This carries stricter time limits for responses and fewer exemptions to disclosure. Please treat this as an EIR request.
Yours faithfully,
Lawrence Weetman
FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 32938297
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Dear Lawrence Weetman
Environmental Information Regulations 2004
Thank you for your request for information that was received on 11 July
2024.
We are dealing with your request under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004 and we aim to send a response by 8 August 2024.
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 may restrict the release of
some or all of the information you have requested. We will carry out an
assessment and if any exceptions apply to some or all of the information
you have requested we will advise you accordingly in our response. We
will also provide you with details of how you may appeal (if appropriate).
Should you require anything further please do not hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Team
[1][Newham Council request email]
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FOI/EIR Information request
Our reference: 32938297
══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Dear Lawrence Weetman
Thank you for your request for information received on 11 July 2024.
Please find attached our response to your request.
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Team
London Borough of Newham - People at the Heart of Everything We Do
[1][Newham Council request email]
NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email.
Disclaimer
This email contains proprietary confidential information some or all of
which may be legally privileged and/or subject to the provisions of
privacy legislation. It is intended solely for the addressee.
If you are not the intended recipient, an addressing or transmission error
has misdirected this e-mail; you must not use, disclose, copy, print or
disseminate the information contained within this e-mail. Please notify
the author immediately by replying to this email.
Any views expressed in this email are those of the individual sender,
except where the sender specifically states these to be the views of the
London Borough of Newham
This email has been scanned for all viruses and all reasonable precautions
have been taken to ensure that no viruses are present. The London Borough
of Newham cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from
the use of this email or attachments.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Newham Council request email]
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