Tree risk assessments relating to F/YR21/0981/F
Dear Fenland District Council,
In the "replacement tree statement" for application "F/YR24/0450/TRTPO" Fenland District Council, as the applicant, says: "This year we have had to remove several trees causing damage to properties in Chatteris due to the soil type."
The tree subject to this particular request was granted TPO status in 1967. This is more than 30 years before the construction of the house where the damage occurred.
The application from FDC appears to blame the soil type in Chatteris for such risks, and yet FDC continues to approve developments where houses are built very close to TPO-protected trees that are to be "retained" as part of the development.
One example of this is at Wenny Meadow, F/YR21/0981/F, where many large veteran trees will be in extremely close proximity to buildings. In natural habitats like the existing grassland, the danger veteran trees pose is relatively low. In housing developments, veteran trees are often seen as unstable.
Given that FDC will likely adopt the roads in the development at F/YR21/0981/F once it is complete, I would like the council to share whether it has:
- Carried out any risk assessment into the problems these trees may pose for the council and taxpayers in future years, perhaps taking into account the existing tree removals and insurance claims the council has had to deal with in recent years?
- Carried out any assessment of the soil type and/or stability of the trees at Wenny Meadow, so that taxpayers are protected from the similar issues that the council has faced elsewhere "due to the soil type"?
Since this is a request for Environmental Information, please treat this as a request under the EIR scheme rather than the FOI scheme. Please remember that the EIR scheme comes with stricter time limits for response (eg, limited extension reasons) and significantly more limited exemptions against disclosure.
Yours faithfully,
Lawrence Weetman
Dear Lawrence Weetman
Thank you for your request for information which we received on 20/06/24.
We are dealing with your request under the Environmental Information
Regulations 2004.
As required by the legislation, we aim to answer your request within 20
working days from the date we received it. If for any reason we are unable
to meet this deadline, we will keep you fully informed of the reasons for
this.
If you have any queries about this email please contact [1][email
address]. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any
future communications.
Yours faithfully,
Freedom of Information Officer
01354 654321
[2]www.fenland.gov.uk
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to a request.
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Dear Lawrence Weetman
Thank you for your request for information which we received on 20/06/24
Your request has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act
2000.
Please see the response below:
In the "replacement tree statement" for application "F/YR24/0450/TRTPO"
Fenland District Council, as the applicant, says: "This year we have had
to remove several trees causing damage to properties in Chatteris due to
the soil type."
The tree subject to this particular request was granted TPO status in
1967. This is more than 30 years before the construction of the house
where the damage occurred.
The application from FDC appears to blame the soil type in Chatteris for
such risks, and yet FDC continues to approve developments where houses are
built very close to TPO-protected trees that are to be "retained" as part
of the development.
One example of this is at Wenny Meadow, F/YR21/0981/F, where many large
veteran trees will be in extremely close proximity to buildings. In
natural habitats like the existing grassland, the danger veteran trees
pose is relatively low. In housing developments, veteran trees are often
seen as unstable.
Given that FDC will likely adopt the roads in the development at
F/YR21/0981/F once it is complete, I would like the council to share
whether it has:
- Carried out any risk assessment into the problems these trees may pose
for the council and taxpayers in future years, perhaps taking into account
the existing tree removals and insurance claims the council has had to
deal with in recent years?
- Carried out any assessment of the soil type and/or stability of the
trees at Wenny Meadow, so that taxpayers are protected from the similar
issues that the council has faced elsewhere "due to the soil type"?
Since this is a request for Environmental Information, please treat this
as a request under the EIR scheme rather than the FOI scheme. Please
remember that the EIR scheme comes with stricter time limits for response
(eg, limited extension reasons) and significantly more limited exemptions
against disclosure.
Any roads within the development would be adopted by the County Council as
Highway Authority. They were consulted on the application.
In addition, the Council’s Arboricultural Officer was consulted and
commented on the application and also professional Ecological advice has
been given on the application.
If you are unhappy with the way the authority has handled your request,
you may ask for an internal review. Please contact [1][email address]
who will arrange an internal review of your case. Under regulation 11(2),
you must contact us for a review no later than 40 working days after the
date of this email.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
WILMSLOW
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545700
[2]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
If you have any queries about this email please contact
[3][email address]. Please remember to quote the reference number above
in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Officer
01354 654321
[4]www.fenland.gov.uk
[5]Medium logo 2008 cmyk
How did we do? Visit our website to [6]have your say
E-mails and any attachments from Fenland District Council (the Council)
are confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the
sender immediately by replying to the e-mail, and then delete it without
making copies or using it in any other way or placing any reliance on it..
It is not intended that this e-mail shall constitute either an offer or
acceptance nor is it intended to form a contract between the Council and
the addressee or any third party.
Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not
necessarily represent those of the Council unless otherwise specifically
stated. Although any attachments to the message will have been checked for
viruses before transmission, you are urged to carry out your own virus
check before opening attachments, since the Council accepts no
responsibility for loss or damage caused by software viruses.
Senders and recipients of e-mail should be aware that, under the data
protection legislation such as UK GDPR, the Freedom of Information Act
2000, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and other related
legislation, the contents of e-mails may have to be disclosed in response
to a request.
To provide you with our services we will need to record personal
information, such as your e-mail address. This information will be kept
securely and only accessed by approved staff. We will not share your
information with anyone else without first telling you. If you would like
more details about how we protect personal information, then please
contact our Data Protection Officer or visit our privacy notice page.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.fenland.gov.uk/
6. http://www.fenland.gov.uk/threecs
Dear foi,
In your response you say that Highways will adopt the roads, but I can see that paragraph 6 of Highways' response published on 24 Sep 2021 says: "On the east side of the western access and the tree lined street road footways are off set from the carriageway edge. Footways should be adjacent to the carriageway and follow their geometry. Highways will not adopt the verges so this avoids creating an island of unadoptable land between two adoptable areas of carriageway and footway."
Given that Highways say the LA would be unlikely to adopt the verges containing trees, has FDC established whose responsibility future maintenance and liability of these trees would fall upon? Would this be the developer, Fenland District Council, or Cambridgeshire County Council?
In your response, you also say: "In addition, the Council’s Arboricultural Officer was consulted and commented on the application and also professional Ecological advice has been given on the application."
This does not answer my question. In their consultation response, the Council’s Arboricultural Officer raised concerns about the risk and hazard these trees present: "The proposed development, whilst retaining many of the trees, opens up the site and allows easy access to the trees, therefore deadwood, broken branches in the crown, structural defects (split branches etc) then become a potential hazard requiring management to prevent possible injury to future residents. In effect, the existing conditions of the trees that make them suitable for supporting important invertebrates, are removed likely leading to a significant change in the levels of population of those species or even total loss."
The Arboricultural Officer also raised concerns about the impact upon buildings and the pressure that future residents would apply to have these trees removed or maintained: "Where retained trees are close to proposed buildings there is often a pressure from future residents to prune the trees due to a fear of failure of part, or all of the tree or for reasons of shading."
The Arboricultural Officer also raised concerns about how the building work might impact water levels at the site: "The site gets seasonally very wet with saturated fields and this is likely to be significantly influenced by covering the site in hardstanding that may change ground water levels."
The response from the Arboricultural Officer highlights significant public safety and liability risks, but neither response contains the information I requested in the FOI request, namely: (a) whether the council has undertaken any risk assessment of the risks posed by the trees to future residents and members of the public; or (b) whether the council has carried out any assessment of the stability of the trees or the soil.
Failure to have undertaken either of these exercises risks opening the council or landowner to risks, poses potential risks to public safety, and is likely to result in the development failing to deliver on the biodiversity gains and protections that the council has committed to uphold (as per Schedule 5 of the S106 agreement).
Please could you answer the specific questions asked, and treat this as an internal review if required?
Yours sincerely,
Lawrence Weetman
Good afternoon, Mr Weetman
Thank you for your email.
In answer to your further question, this would be picked up through the proposed conditions set out within the report to Committee.
Regards
Freedom of Information Officer
01354 654321
www.fenland.gov.uk
How did we do? Visit our website to have your say
Dear Lawrence Weetman
Thank you for your request for information which we received on 20/06/24 Your request has been considered under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please see the response below:
In the "replacement tree statement" for application "F/YR24/0450/TRTPO" Fenland District Council, as the applicant, says: "This year we have had to remove several trees causing damage to properties in Chatteris due to the soil type."
The tree subject to this particular request was granted TPO status in 1967. This is more than 30 years before the construction of the house where the damage occurred.
The application from FDC appears to blame the soil type in Chatteris for such risks, and yet FDC continues to approve developments where houses are built very close to TPO-protected trees that are to be "retained" as part of the development.
One example of this is at Wenny Meadow, F/YR21/0981/F, where many large veteran trees will be in extremely close proximity to buildings. In natural habitats like the existing grassland, the danger veteran trees pose is relatively low. In housing developments, veteran trees are often seen as unstable.
Given that FDC will likely adopt the roads in the development at F/YR21/0981/F once it is complete, I would like the council to share whether it has:
- Carried out any risk assessment into the problems these trees may pose for the council and taxpayers in future years, perhaps taking into account the existing tree removals and insurance claims the council has had to deal with in recent years?
- Carried out any assessment of the soil type and/or stability of the trees at Wenny Meadow, so that taxpayers are protected from the similar issues that the council has faced elsewhere "due to the soil type"?
Since this is a request for Environmental Information, please treat this as a request under the EIR scheme rather than the FOI scheme. Please remember that the EIR scheme comes with stricter time limits for response (eg, limited extension reasons) and significantly more limited exemptions against disclosure.
Any roads within the development would be adopted by the County Council as Highway Authority. They were consulted on the application.
In addition, the Council's Arboricultural Officer was consulted and commented on the application and also professional Ecological advice has been given on the application.
If you are unhappy with the way the authority has handled your request, you may ask for an internal review. Please contact [email address] <mailto:[email address]> who will arrange an internal review of your case. Under regulation 11(2), you must contact us for a review no later than 40 working days after the date of this email.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
WILMSLOW
Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
If you have any queries about this email please contact [email address] <mailto:[email address]> . Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Officer
01354 654321
www.fenland.gov.uk <http://www.fenland.gov.uk/>
How did we do? Visit our website to have your say <http://www.fenland.gov.uk/threecs>
E-mails and any attachments from Fenland District Council (the Council) are confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately by replying to the e-mail, and then delete it without making copies or using it in any other way or placing any reliance on it.
It is not intended that this e-mail shall constitute either an offer or acceptance nor is it intended to form a contract between the Council and the addressee or any third party.
Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the Council unless otherwise specifically stated.
Although any attachments to the message will have been checked for viruses before transmission, you are urged to carry out your own virus check before opening attachments, since the Council accepts no responsibility for loss or damage caused by software viruses.
Senders and recipients of e-mail should be aware that, under the data protection legislation such as UK GDPR, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and other related legislation, the contents of e-mails may have to be disclosed in response to a request.
To provide you with our services we will need to record personal information, such as your e-mail address. This information will be kept securely and only accessed by approved staff. We will not share your information with anyone else without first telling you. If you would like more details about how we protect personal information, then please contact our Data Protection Officer or visit our privacy notice page.
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