Local Councillor, Eric Bishop, and MP for Watford, Richard Harrington have been working together for sometime to make sure that Sandpit Wood, which was illegally felled of its trees, is replanted.
Richard and Eric have been concerned for some time that the re-planting order, handed down by the Forestry Commission, is being ignored by the developers of this land. This has led Richard to write to Minister for the Environment, Rory Stewart asking for harsher penalties for those who do not follow Foresty Commission orders.
Whilst this is an ongoing issue, Richard and Eric would like to update you about the Gibbs Couch end of the Wood which was recently sold at auction. We were informed that the new owners were on site and had started to clear but the undergrowth. Your local councillors and the police attended and informed them that this area was covered by a Tree Preservation Order and so should not be touched. The owners left but since then they have returned overnight. Three Rivers Tree Officer has been to the site with the local councillors and they are going to contact the owners stating what protection this area has and the penalty that will apply if this is breached.
The text of Richard's letter to Government Minister, Rory Stewart, is below:
Rory Stewart MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
3 August 2015
Dear Rory,
I would like to bring to your attention a local issue, which I think has huge national consequences.
I would like to tell you about what has happened at Sandpit Wood in my constituency, which is “woodland comprising of mixed coniferous/deciduous species including pine and hornbeam at land to the west of properties 38-162 St Georges Drive (Watford).” The wood is home to much wildlife too.
Some years ago, the land was purchased for development by property companies, Clovercourt Property Company Ltd and Masma Ltd. In 2012, protected trees on the land were felled. Not all of the trees on this land were protected.
The District Council, Three Rivers in Hertfordshire was made aware of this and investigated, finding that felled trees included Oak, Ash, Hawthorn, Cherry, Norway Spruce and Leylandii. Seven were judged to be within the TPO. Upon further investigation, they could only prove that one tree, a Norway Spruce, has been felled in breach of the TPO, and a result did not take the developer to court. During a similar period, the developers applied for planning permission on the land. It was always unlikely that they would be successful, as the land is completely inappropriate for housing but you can imagine how upsetting this was for local residents – to see a wooded area cleared, with no consultation or permission and then the suggestion made that housing should be put there. In the end, the resulting legal action was a caution against the developers.
However, councillors had notified the Forestry Commission that the tress had been removed without a logging licence. They ordered restocking which seemed to be a victory about and called for 220 trees to be planted with a final deadline of 30 June this year. That deadline has clearly passed and at the last inspection the Forestry Commission found that nothing had been done to promote regrowth and in fact detrimental activity (removal of tree stumps) had taken place. The first deadline was June of last year, which has also passed. I was told by the Forestry Commission that “If we find no tree planting has taken place by 30th June 2015 we would issue an enforcement notice requiring the land to restocked within 18 months of that Notice being served. Failure to take the steps required by such a notice may constitute an offence under Section 24(4) of the Forestry Act 1967 and involve liability on summary conviction to a fine equivalent to level 5 on the standard scale. This can mean a fine, currently, of up to £5,000.”
However, developers here and in other parts of the country, will know that the restocking order can be superseded by planning permission to build on the land, and that is exactly what the company is trying to achieve, although councillors are against it. With only a maximum of a £5,000 fine as a deterrent, the incentive to leave the land barren and wait until a favourable time for planning permission will be stronger. Similarly, if they do wait the maximum 18 months that would be December 2016 (nearly five years after the offence took place!) and the time would not be right for replanting, so they would be given another extension.
I have written directly to the Forestry Commission about the lack of punishment but the conclusion that Cllr Eric Bishop, who represents the area, and I have come to is that this must be tackled with stricter legislation and more powers for the Forestry Commission.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and would be happy to meet with you to discuss this further.
Yours ever,
Richard Harrington MP
Member of Parliament for Watford