Campaigner loses bid for contempt proceedings over Plymouth tree fellings
More than 100 trees were chopped down in Armada Way in 2023
A campaigner has lost a High Court bid to bring contempt of court proceedings against a council over the felling of more than 100 trees.
At a hearing in October, Alison White asked for the green light to resume a contempt claim against Plymouth City Council after it cut down 110 trees, as part of a £12 million regeneration scheme in the area.
Lawyers for Ms White, who applied for the council to be committed for contempt in November 2023, argued that the local authority did not give protesters sufficient time to challenge the fellings in Armada Way, Plymouth.
The court heard that council leader Richard Bingley signed an executive decision to allow the felling of the trees, which was published online at 6pm on March 14 2023.
Within minutes, contractors, security guards and the police sealed off the site, the court was told, and an injunction was made in the early hours of March 15 to prevent further work.
In a judgment on Wednesday, Mr Justice Sheldon dismissed Ms White's contempt bid, which came after an earlier legal challenge was dismissed as "academic".
He said in a 22-page ruling: "I do not consider that it can sensibly be argued that the claimant was precluded from obtaining access to a court so that the administration of justice could not be carried out."
The judge continued: "The overwhelming evidence is that the council's conduct was mainly designed to avoid protest, rather than legal action."
Mr Justice Sheldon later said there was "no real prospect" of Ms White proving a substantive contempt of court had been committed.
He continued: "There is no real purpose to be served by the court hearing an application for contempt solely for the purpose of seeking to hold the council to account for something which made no material difference."
The High Court in London previously heard that the council will carry out an inquiry into the fellings after the legal action and that proposals to plant 163 trees have been submitted.