The lime trees on The Walks have been given a temporary stay of execution until midnight on July 31 after council leader Cllr Jason Smithers said he would not expect ‘the developer to undertake any works to the trees’. Cllr Smithers made this announcement as he released a string of documents showing the legal process that led to the start of works to fell up to 61 trees by developers Stanton Cross LLP. But as you can see this isn’t anything new, he’s just quoting planning documents as follows:
In terms of Bird Nesting Season: Condition 31 of the planning permission for the Stanton Cross SUE requires that no works to trees should be carried out by the developer during the UK bird nesting season. This period runs from the 1 March to the 31 July and as such, the Council would not expect the developer to undertake any works to the trees located at the Walks / London Road during this period. Nesting birds are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which is the responsibility of the Police to enforce.
Cllr Jason Smithers
Cllr Smithers added that Stanton Cross Developments LLP ‘benefit from a lawful exemption to the Tree Preservation Order that enables the removal of trees at the London Road / The Walks area in order to develop Route 2 of the Stanton Cross Sustainable Urban Extension’. So here’s hoping that Vistry/Bovis Homes/Stanton Cross LLP that they stick to that, and that they use that time to engage with North Northamptonshire Council to change their plans to fell all the lime trees south of the Tesco roundabout.
Cllr Smithers also added “The council understands that following the community engagement event, there remains some questions regarding the lawfulness of the works undertaken by the developer that were not fully addressed by the content of the developer’s event.” The roundabout design at London Road, which remains unchanged, clearly shows the approved design overlaid on the existing highway can be seen on the ‘Detailed Layout Plan’ below:
The removal of trees to the south of the roundabout is completely unnecessary to build this roundabout; they are being removed to facilitate the works, including strengthening a gas pipe. Campaigners at tonight’s Full Council meeting will make this point and many other in order to SAVE OUR TREES!
Find the newly released ‘missing’ documents and Cllr Smithers full statement on the North Northamptonshire Council’s website.