Liberal Democrats ruling Cambridge City Council appear hell-bent on making the city an impractical and expensive place to live and do business in. Expanding the areas of the city which are covered by conservation areas is one of the ways in which decisions made by the local council have a damaging effect on the city. I believe the Liberal Democrat’s aim is to try and keep the rif-raf (in their eyes - students and house sharers) out of Newnham, Riverside, and the De Freville Avenue areas of the city. If that’s not the aim it’s certainly the effect. Conservation areas also make it very difficult for people to adapt their homes to suit different stages of their lives, prompting some to move out of the city.
Just how much state control is exercised over those living in conservation areas is illustrated by a current tree works application from Mrs Kesler of 26 Owlstone Road in Newnham. Mrs Kesler wants to prune her apple trees; under the Liberal Democrat regime she dare not just do it; she has applied to the council for permission to. I quote from her application:
T1 - Apple: crown reduce by approx 1m; crown thin by approx 20% off the longest growths and shorten laterals branches by approx 0.75m
T2 - Apple: crown reduce by approx 1m; crown thin by approx 20% off the longest growths and shorten laterals branches by approx 0.75m
T3 - Prunus: remove epicormic growths from base and lower trunk
During the consultation period which followed Mrs Kesler’s application I responded to the call for comments by writing to the council in support, I said:
I think this is state interference in people’s lives gone bananas.
Mrs Kesler shouldn’t need the the council’s permission to prune her apple trees, not even if they’re in a conservation area.
I fully support Mrs Kesler’s application to prune her trees - let her get on with growing her apples .
Mrs Kesler has employed Mr Cole of Eastern Tree Surgery to deal with her application to the council on her behalf. While I do not know why Mrs Kesler is engaging professionals it is possible she has done so simply to deal with the bureaucracy. Using professionals may be an attempt to ease the passage of her application as the Liberal Democrat city council advise that tree works have to be carried out to a good standard, and say they often require adherence British Standard 3998 - a document which as far as I can see is not freely available, though a table of contents can be found.
I think it’s really silly that Cambridge City Lib Dems - who’re pushing “conservation areas” to ever wider areas of the city are requiring people to apply for permission to prune their fruit trees. I noticed this was a problem in the Riverside area last year, where people there with fruit trees in their gardens were seeking to prune them resulting in the streets being plastered with public notices.
There was no public notice relating to Mrs Kesler’s application on Owlstone Road, and no dates associated with posting one are mentioned on the council’s planning portal. Tree works notices are common though throughout Cambridge’s Conservation areas. I spotted two on nearby streets when I went to look at Mrs Kesler’s apple trees before commenting on the application. The only notices on the street are in relation to a Queens’ College proposal to refurbish the Owlstone Croft site behind.
The council have set a “Target Determination Date” for the decision on if Mrs Kesler can prune her apple tree of the 26th of February. The application can be followed via the page on application 10/016/TREE2 on the city council website.
I spoke to Liberal Democrat Cllr Neale Upstone about Mrs Kesler’s application, and the general problem as I see it of people having to ask permission to prune their fruit trees. He suggested I approach Cllr Sian Reid, the City Council’s Executive Councillor for Climate Change and Growth, who he thought might have the power to put a stop to what is happening. Before the West/Central Area Committee on the 4th of February 2010 I had a brief opportunity to ask Cllr Reid why the she thought it right to require applications for permission to prune apple trees, citing Mrs Kesler’s application which is in Cllr Reid’s ward. Cllr Reid responded to say that she believed it was the law that required applications to made. Cllr Cantrill and the Leader of the Council Ian Nimmo-Smith quickly both jumped in on this line which they all appeared believe absolved them from any responsibility for the ludicrous situation, despite their role supporting the maintenance and expansion of Cambridge’s conservation areas.
Mr Cole of Eastern Tree Surgery has commented on a previous article I have written, I have invited him to comment on this one.
10 Comments
I sincerely hope it is a native Apple Tree otherwise the council will be seeking its removal!
Is it not normal for someone pruning a tree to have to check for tree preservation orders or conservation areas and tree surgeons to offer to do the check and application?
http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/li-treesinconsareas says “Buildings, landscape features and trees all contribute to the special character of a Conservation Area. The importance of trees in Conservation Areas is recognised in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (external site, opens new window) which makes special provision for trees in Conservation Areas which are not already protected by a Tree Preservation Order. ”
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/ukpga_19900008_en_16#pt8-ch1-pb5-l1g211
which certainly suggests it is the law
I think you will find that by virtue of reg. 10(1)(a) of The Town and Country Planning (Trees) Regulations 1999 (SI no. 1892 of 1999) and the schedule to them, the requirement to notify the Planning Authority does not apply to “the pruning, in accordance with good horticultural practice, of any tree cultivated for the production of fruit” (unless the fruit tree is subject to a Tree Preservation Order)so maybe Mrs K did not need to notify for the pruning works to her fruit trees - though she would for pruning of ornamental cherry (prunus).
The big problem I see with the extension of conservation areas is that they make like difficult for the general public (e.g. I wonder how much pruning three trees would end up costing, both in terms of time and money) and yet large scale development (e.g. Three Crown’s House; Kaleidoscope; 13 Chesterton Rd) have managed to get around any restrictions. In other words, far from conserving, they seem to have the effect that only large, well-funded and/or well-connected projects can go ahead while making it hard for ordinary people to make changes (and even if the regulations might not forbid something, I suspect that poor understanding of what is/isn’t allowed just stops people form even trying).
I couldn’t put it better - it’s interference gone bananas!
Richard,
I agree with you that it is bureaucracy gone bananas and that the Lib Dems do seem to be intent on making Cambridge a place for their own ilk and to hell with the rest although it does look on the face of it that they can hide behind the law in this instance if one looks in isolation at the detail supplied by Malcolm Gray dated 10th Feb last. If that is the case then I would suggest that the law requires changing with regard to fruit trees in a domestic garden.
But which part of the Act applies, because as Neill Campbell ( if it is the Neill Campbell that I know he is a property lawyer) has also pointed out on 10th Feb last:
“I think you will find that by virtue of reg. 10(1)(a) of The Town and Country Planning (Trees) Regulations 1999 (SI no. 1892 of 1999) and the schedule to them, the requirement to notify the Planning Authority does not apply to “the pruning, in accordance with good horticultural practice, of any tree cultivated for the production of fruit” (unless the fruit tree is subject to a Tree Preservation Order)so maybe Mrs K did not need to notify for the pruning works to her fruit trees - though she would for pruning of ornamental cherry (prunus).”
That aside, having witnessed this Lib dem council’s behaviour and attitude over the last few years I have come to the conclusion that they are an arrogant, self-centered and secretive bunch who accept no or little responsibility for their actions. They totally forget that they are public servants paid for out of the public purse. I’m not suggesting that we go back to the days when they would sign off letters as “Your obedient servant” ; but they have to realise that they are in a position of privilege and honour and that they are not the masters and we the servants.
As one who works with Lib Dem Councillors as a volunteer, I certainly don’t agree with all their decisions, but I do know from day to day observation that they work hard for the public good as they honestly see it. I have not met any ‘arrogant’ Councillors. (Can we have names, please?) Councillors can hardly be ’secretive’ when their names, addresses, interests, policies and decisions are publicly available. They submit themselves to public judgement by standing for election and it is a fact that the three Newnham Liberal Democrat City Councillors have all been re-elected at least once.
Incidentally, I live in a conservation area. It is exasperating not to be able to take an axe to superannuated trees, but conservation areas are vital elements in keeping Cambridge the beautiful place it is.
Another Newnham Apple tree pruning application has been submitted to Cambridge City Council.
All this bureaucracy for 10% off four branches of an apple tree. This time the applicant is Dr P La Hausse of 57 Grantchester Street.
As I did with Mrs Kessler’s application, I have written to the council expressing my support for the state not interfering with Dr La Hausse’s apple growing. I added:
This is indeed bureaucracy gone mad. There is a difference between pruning and felling. Pruning is part and parcel of good maintenance and management of the land. Without it fewer trees would survive long enough to need preserving. I think we need to regain a proper sense of perspective here.
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