Tree Felling: Plymouth

(asked on 21st March 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Plymouth City Council on the felling of over 100 trees in Plymouth City Centre.


Answered by
Trudy Harrison Portrait
Trudy Harrison
This question was answered on 29th March 2023

It is for the local planning authority to consider any development proposals on their individual merits and to decide the appropriate route to granting planning permission where that is required. I have written to Plymouth City Council. We want to see more trees and green spaces close to where people live, not fewer and it is a disappointment when we lose mature trees in the urban environment. However, I understand that the council has a more ambitious plan in place, including planting more trees than felled and that many of the trees may have been in bad shape. Our ambitions outlined in the England Tree Action Plan (ETAP) and the launch of the Nature for Climate Fund Tree Programme make it ever easier to plant new trees and protect those in the existing landscape. We have committed in the ETAP to ensure future planning reforms will lead to more trees being planted and strong protections for existing trees. We offer a suite of technical guidance and funding streams to support local authorities enhance their treescapes.

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