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Home-owners and children affected by subsidence, from front, Sophie Bould, Jack French, James Bould, Colin Gray, Adam Hilton, Peter Robbins, Patrick French, John Dollar and Martin Bould |
Subsidence families told to cut down trees
Insurance firms refuse to pay for repairs until plants are removed
FAMILIES affected by subsidence in Dartmouth Park have been told that they must clear their street of trees, hedges and bushes before repair work is carried out.
Residents of Woodsome Road and surrounding streets said the demands have been made by insurance companies who are quibbling over paying out for repairs to cracks in their houses.
They say that their homes have been made unstable by a lack of foundations to their properties and the recent replacement of Victorian water pipes.
Peter Robbins, who was told to remove a rosemary bush and a silver birch tree by insurers, said: “They don’t want to do the underpinning to the houses, they want the trees chopped down, because it puts off the evil day when the houses will have to be underpinned.”
Mr Robbins, a retired economics advisor, claims the insurers are trying to get out of doing the foundation repairs by putting off the works until their contracts run out.
Neighbours say cutting down the trees would only be a stop-gap measure.
Town planner Adam Hilton said: “It’s mindless bullying – they’re not actually tackling the issue.
“It’s not the plants causing subsidence, it’s the area – the nature of the clay, climate change, and a lack of foundation to the houses. The plants are what makes this area lovely to live in and provide much-needed oxygen.”
The group of residents has demanded that the council take a stand against the insurers by protecting the trees and shrubs with preservation orders.
“The council are afraid of doing that because it’s possible the insurance companies will take legal action against them,” said Mr Robbins, who has lived in Woodsome Road for 20 years, and had an application for a Tree Preservation Order in his garden turned down.
Their demands come as a report by the London Tree Officers’ Association revealed 40,000 trees had been chopped down in London in the past five years.
Councillor Flick Rea, in charge of street trees in Camden, is supporting the residents in their fight to save the trees, but said the council was powerless to save trees in private gardens.
She said: “I’m hugely sympathetic, but they need to find out why the preservation order was refused and find out if they can get help from the council tree advisory team, who can give them a second opinion, and maybe help them in their fight against the insurers.”
A report set to be published by the Town Hall in July outlines the council’s plans to plant trees more suited to a warmer climate, but it will not tackle the problem faced by residents being forced to cut down their plants.
Cllr Rea said: “It’s a concern, but we have very little jurisdiction with trees in private property.” |
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I am an arboricultural consultant and this is a familiar
situation in my field of work. Having worked as a local authority tree
officer, but now in the private sector I can see both sides of the
problem. As far as the local authority is concerned, although they do
have a responsibility to protect trees that contribute to the amenity of
the area, not all trees fall into the criteria required to be worthy of
preservation. The trees they should give priority to are those that
provide a significant amenity value that, if removed, would
substantially diminish the character of the area. As far as residents
are concerned when it comes to a situation like subsidence, the
correspondence received can be scary and daunting. However, they should
not be deterred from questioning the information given. It maybe the
case that insufficient evidence has been provided to condemn the tree(s)
and that further investigation should be undertaken to ascertain if
removal really is the only option. My advice to the residence is to
seek professional advice with a qualified arborist familiar in this
field, who will provide them with a report outlining their rightful
options. I find Councilor Rea's comments to be slightly defeatist as
local authorities do have the powers to place restrictions on trees
where they see fit. Any one seeking advice should contact me at 01621
778699.
Andrew Day |
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