A Cheshire East Cabinet councillor has vowed “very serious action” after trees blocking a proposed controversial “Nantwich South” access road were hacked down.
Cllr David Brown said they are looking at whether the council’s environmental conditions have been breached.
It comes after three oaks were removed just hours before a planning board met to consider Muller Property’s “Nantwich South” phase one applications for land off Peter Destapleigh Way, Stapeley.
The oaks were the key reason why planning officers had recommended the access road application be rejected.
Cllr Brown, Cabinet member for strategic communities, said: “A planning application for a new highway access road, including footways and cycleway and associated works for land off Peter Destapleigh Way, Nantwich had been recommended for refusal by officers on the grounds that the proposal would result in the loss of four “Category A” oak trees and due regard had not been given to alternatives to avoid their loss.
“The Strategic Planning Board was due to consider the application on April 3. However, over the Easter weekend, three of the trees in question were removed.
“The Strategic Planning Board therefore had no option other than to defer the application to seek further advice from the council’s arboriculturalist and to allow the implications of the recent actions on site to be considered.
“This raises some very serious questions as to why the action was carried out. We need to find out who carried out this action and the reason for doing so.
“If they have broken any of the council’s environmental conditions we will take very serious action against the perpetrators.”
A Muller Property spokesman said last week they knew nothing about the tree felling, which happened on private land.
The landowners, when contacted by Nantwichnews, declined to comment.
This council has been bending the rules to suit where they want houses to be built. Its nice to see the boot on the other foot. Cllr Brown was all very keen to put through the planning application at the Wybunbury triangle.
As if someone at the Council won’t know about this.
Yet another example of building firms having no regard for the location in which they plan to build, and a council having very little interest in the views of the general public.
As there were probably no witnesses and Muller claim to know nothing about it, there will be no prosecution and we will soon be seeing houses/roads whatever else they deem necessary on this land. Whatever happened to the Nantwich we used to know?
I saw them cutting the trees down and immediately phoned
the council only to be passed from pillar to post eventually
speaking to someone evidently way out of area who was only
able to locate them on a map and tell me there
was no preservation order on them – it is such a shame that
financial gain once again overpowers all that is such simply right
Perhaps the most interesting part of the article is the final paragraph:
‘The landowners, when contacted by Nantwichnews, declined to comment.’
Make of that what you will…
If the trees were under a protection order, which at a mature age aught to have been for Oaks, then up to a £50,000 fine and prison await, assuming the culprit can be found and successfully convicted. As the crime, in this case is probably not on the top of any police list, I guess hard to investigate after the event and slim chance. If anyone has seen the chainsaw operator, let the police know.
If any landowner can just cut down whatever they want without permission, then this is a real sad situation, as developers will just cut first and pretend they know nothing.
I hear that the maximum penalty has never been brought for tree felling, I think an example should be made if the culprit was convicted.
It is interesting that Cheshire East have either given consent or know nothing to at least 5 further trees in Crewe at the new Crewe Station buildings being constructed. It is a real pity that trees of a substantial age could not have been accommodated in any plan they produced. Two further trees have been felled at the Crewe Fire Station, this time pines, but again well over 100 years old. These trees have all been growing through, in most cases the whole of the Crewe history from early industrial town to the present day and held the considerable amenity and historic record within their rings and woods, now lost.
Due to the early pollution these trees grew, their growth was been stunted until the Clean Air Acts of the 1960’s, when they recovered and were now in full growth. So don’t be fooled by the apparent size of the trunks, they are much older than you think.
There seems to be a complete disregard to the quality of our environment and the place where we live, progress at the expense of the historic and important natural resources is a mistake. I bet the tatty young trees will be architecturally pleasant, but never a replacement for ancient pines and hardwoods.
All mature trees on the boundaries of all the local towns should now have protection orders placed upon them. I guess it is up to individuals and the Council to suggest which trees are needed to be placed under order, and urgently this should be done to any that are subject to planning proposals before they are considered further.
I note under the tree rules of illegal felling, a replacement tree of the same type has to be planted at the same spot. I hope the Council insist that this is done and that the new trees are immediately protected with an order.
Where have all the comments gone from the 4th April article on these Oak Trees ?
I would describe it as an act of cowardice… shame on the culprits. Let’s hope it backfires… cutting down lovely oak trees was completely unnecessary, whoever did it must be desperate as this is about as low as you can go… Disgraceful, pure and simple.
This is the second case of felling of ancient Oaks i have heard this week!! Utterly shamefull!!
I find it interesting that someone was able to fell and dispose of 3 or 4 oak tress without anyone noticing. When I had a tree removed from my garden, the noise and the increased activity levels over a period of 3 hours were very noticeable. This smacks of some sort of conspiracy.
Disgraceful, I hope the council punish the culprits as hard as they can.