Two men fined for chopping down protected trees in Sudbrooke near Lincoln
West Lindsey District Council will now replace the trees
Two men have been fined thousands of pounds for chopping down six trees covered by preservation orders in Sudbrooke near Lincoln.
They were felled at a property on Main Drive in June last year.
West Lindsey District council will now plant new trees to replace those chopped down.
No consent had been sought from the council
Council officers were called to the property after concerns were raised and discovered they were part of a woodland which was protected.
No consent had been sought from the council.
One man was ordered to pay over 6 thousand pounds in fines and costs and a second more than 3 thousand.
Chair of the Council’s Planning Committee at West Lindsey District Council, Cllr Matt Boles said:
“We are very pleased with the outcome of this case. I commend the members of the public who made the Council aware of this issue and in turn our officers for following it through to this successful outcome.
We hope that this demonstrates to the public that the Council takes wilful damage to our protected environment extremely seriously
“Tree Preservation Orders are there for a reason and this outcome should serve as a warning to any landowner or businesses wishing to fell trees, to think twice, and check with the Council before doing so.”
The Council will be seeking to confirm the replanting of the trees to ensure that what was originally removed will be present again in the future.
Andy Gray, Housing and Environmental Enforcement Manager at the Council added:
“We hope that this demonstrates to the public that the Council takes wilful damage to our protected environment extremely seriously.
“Any person living on or owning land that contains trees needs to ensure that they have taken steps to understand whether they are protected or not and then where they are aware they are protected, should not commence any works on them until they have obtained the necessary consent. If anybody is in any doubt, they should contact the Council in advance.”