FOI for copy of Tree Preservation Order application

Question

Does anybody know if under FOI or EIR a Parish Council is obliged to share details of the application they make to request a TPO. In my bites that are making the application because I asked for some pruning works which after 12 months of waiting for a solicitor to say if they own the land in which it sits, they said no works but they are going for a TPO.
Kind regards

Answer 1

I can't think of any exemptions that they could rely on. So yes put in an EIR request and you should receive a copy of the report.

Answer 2

"...Does anybody know if under FOI or EIR a Parish Council is obliged to share details of the application they make to request a TPO..."

Yes they are - EIR is the correct path.

"...In my bites that are making the application because I asked for some pruning works which after 12 months of waiting for a solicitor to say if they own the land in which it sits, they said no works but they are going for a TPO...."

I can make no sense of this?  What are your bites?

Are you saying there is a tree which is not yet subject to a TPO, you are not the owner of the tree, but you have asked the PC to prune it because it encroaches across your boundary but they question ownership of the land upon which the tree stands?

Could you be a bit clearer on the situation please?  

If the PC requests a TPO it will be submitted to the Local Planning Authority for assessment (probably under the TEMPO system of tree evaluation.)

EIR would allow you to seek the PC submission to the LPA requesting the TPO and then you can EIR the LPA (some will publish TPO applications the same as any planning application) but some don't.  In any case, if the LPA receives a request for a TPO, and if they decide to proceed through the qualifying process, every 'interested party' must be informed of the process.

Happy to provide much more specific detail if you could clarify the situation 

 

Comments

Hi thank you very much indeed. The basic position ( apologies for any repetition) is that the tree in question is a pair of established twin oaks sitting in in an unregistered section of land (a ditch) that forms the boundary between my back garden and a recreation ground owned by the Parish Council. The Parish Council included the tree(s) in a tree survey which for safety reasons recommended cutting back of the overhang into the back gardens, which refers to mine and my neighbours garden. However this was never done, although the Parish Council says it was. This is a bone of contention and my  picture evidence says otherwise. However it was apparent that some further works would be required in addition to those in the tree survey. Although the tree(s) are in unregistered land, I asked the Parish Council for permission to do the works, which incidentally were quoted by the tree surgeon used to do the works on the tree survey.I also provided the Parish Council with written confirmation from another tree surgeon that the works ( crown reduction) would not harm the tree. As it appeared there would be some push back on consent to works beyond the tree survey, I also provided the Parish Council with Land Registry docs confirming that the tree was in unregistered land. The point being that  I had made various enquires to find out who owned the land, but these were to no avail. Other than the Parish Council thought they owned the land.The Parish  Council then referred the matter to their Solicitor to enquire into who owns the land and after a year he has come back with a construct that in fact the the Parish  Council own the land in which the tree sits. Consequently the Parish Council now propose to undertake title rectification and they have decided to apply for a TPO for said trees and any others in the vicinity of the boundary, which encompasses a large area. None of these trees are in danger and naturally all of this is happening because I asked for works to be done this is because I asked for works to be done on the tree. It should be said that in view of the delay by the solicitor in coming back on the boundary/ ownership of the tree I quoted the acess to neighbouring land act 1925 but did not act in this. So coming to the question these are trees purportedly on Parish Council that as denoted by the tree surgery are already under a tree management program and are not in danger( unless they claim that I would do unauthorised works which I wouldn’t) so I am intrigued as to how the expediency aspect of TEMPO might work in this context? I think they will claim that the tree is under threat from me and I would like to challenge this incorrect assertion before the application goes in, but at the same time I would like to see what that are saying in the application about there threat to the trees. However found it be the case that as these trees are on land purportedly owned by the Parish Council this will be just be pushed through. They do not have any tree protection orders on any other trees within there land on the recreation ground.

Apologies for long message, just wanted to give full background.

Answer 3

Would a simpler way be to request a copy of the application documentation and actual TPO from the issuing authority?

Comments

Thank you that’s a very good point. Really what I am trying to understand is what information the PC are relying on to demonstrate that the tree is in danger. In reality it isn’t.

---

Write to the next tier local authority and explain you are an interested party with regard to the trees and you would like to make representations if an application is considered
I assume they think you are going to sneak out at night with a chain saw !

---

Thank you for that information . Yes that’s how they are making me feel, for no good reason.