Ancient Trees: Protections Debate
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Lord Cromwell
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Ancient Trees: Protections
Lord Cromwell Excerpts(1 day, 20 hours ago)
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Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
That is a really good question. I do not know the reason why the council has put a TPO on it, but common sense suggests that the tree may not actually be dead. You could say that it has been extremely heavily pollarded, as opposed to chopped down at the base, as was the case with the Sycamore Gap tree. On that basis, it could potentially sprout again. It will not exactly recover quickly to its former glory, but that is potentially the reason that the TPO has been put on it.
Lord Cromwell (CB)
My Lords, can the Minister tell the House whether TPOs are easy to find online through digital mapping? That would remove the excuse for cutting down a tree with a TPO; it would also give people in the local community the opportunity to identify trees that perhaps do not have TPOs but they feel should, as part of the local plan.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
The noble Lord asks an interesting question, to which I do not actually know the answer. I shall look into it and get back to him.