Barrister's fight to enforce Tree Preservation Orders

Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) are an important tool for protecting trees and woodlands for the benefit of the environment. They prohibit any activity such as cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting, wilful damage or wilful destruction of trees without the local planning authority's written consent.

Recently, a campaign to prevent the cutting down of a historic avenue of Wellingborough trees was successful due to intervention from a barrister who climbed one of the trees subject to the TPO. This created dialogue between campaigners and North Northants Council (NNC), which led to NNC asking Vistry—the company responsible for felling trees—to provide more documentation for public scrutiny.

Marion Turner-Hawes, who is leading the legal challenges against cutting down these lime trees, argued that it is essential that due process is followed in order to ensure transparency and fairness in how TPOs are implemented. Paul Powlesland, who accompanied Marion to this meeting with Cllr Jason Smithers, echoed her views. He stated that while some clarification has been provided through this legal intervention, it is unfortunate that such action was needed in order for people’s concerns to be heard and addressed properly.