Issue - meetings

The Leader provided Members with a brief update to advise that the Council would contest the appeal that had been lodged in response to the Council’s action.

Members noted the report.

Members were advised that since the work took place on the Park Avenue tree site in question at the end of February and the beginning of March this year, officers in the Planning Enforcement team had conducted an investigation into the enforcement complaints that had been received. The Council’s Planning Enforcement protocol outlines that on receiving a complaint, the Council would need to establish whether a breach of planning control had taken place, and seek to resolve the matter without formal action where possible. Following the conclusion of investigations, the Enforcement team would decide whether or not to take formal action. In all cases, the Council would seek to use the most effective power available to remedy a breach of planning control.

In this instance, the reported breach was considered a high priority case, as it related to the loss of protected trees. Officers determined that of the trees that were felled, that on the balance of probabilities when considering the information available, 12 trees had been removed which were protected by virtue of the 1956 and 1985 orders. Officers have been unable to resolve the matter without formal action and the trees felled under the TPO order have not been replanted at the earliest opportunity. They had taken external legal advice and the action they took in resolving this matter was appropriate.

Therefore the Council served a tree replacement notice on the owner of the site requiring 12 trees of specific species to be replanted on the site by the 31st March 2021. The notice would be effective from 30 December 2020 and the owner would be able to appeal the notice to the Planning Inspectorate if an appeal was submitted before this date. Members were further advised that the designation of the site as open space, with development precluded, (as requested by the petitioners) could not be made by Cabinet but rather through the Local Plan process.

The following Members spoke under Council Procedure Rule 20.1:

Councillor Garner;

Councillor David Saunders;

Councillor Bailey.

Councillor Everitt proposed, Councillor Albon seconded and Cabinet agreed to:

1.  Note the on-going enforcement action when considering the petition in relation to the felling of trees on a site in Viking Ward, Broadstairs;

2.  Include the consideration of open space and green infrastructure in the district within the Local Plan review, in accordance with the recommendations of the separate Cabinet report, (that was considered at this Cabinet meeting), relating to the scope of the Local Plan Update.

Mrs Amanda Suess presented a petition and e-petition regarding the felling of the trees in Park Avenue Woodland in Broadstairs. Members noted that the following petitions contained 455 and 319 signatures respectively:

“We the undersigned petition the council to require the owner of the area of woodland off Park Avenue - East of Park Wood Close-, Broadstairs (Land Registry Ref K61934), to replant any trees covered by tree protection orders within that area following the recent heavy felling and to reaffirm its current view that the area should remain as open space/woodland.”

In accordance with the Council’s Petition Scheme, the petition was referred to Cabinet without debate for report back to the Council within three ordinary meetings.