An unlimited fine could be imposed over the felling of protected trees in Dumbarton after council chiefs reported it to the procurator fiscal.
A total of 33 trees, covered under a Tree Preservation Order, were hacked down in April – just days after a housing developer was given planning permission to build 81 houses on the site near Carmelite Monastery.
The controversial plans received more than 200 objections over environmental concerns and residents were left furious by the felling, which Slate Island Developments Ltd, the firm behind the housing plans, said was “unintentional”.
The company has one director listed on Companies House, former Rangers FC director Sandy Easdale, and the planning application was jointly lodged by the firm and Miller Homes.
Councillors will be given an update tomorrow and have been informed that West Dunbartonshire Council has made an initial submission to the procurator fiscal over the incident. They say those responsible could face an unlimited fine if the procurator fiscal decides to pursue a prosecution on indictment.
In a report by Pamela Clifford, planning and building standards manager, to councillors, she says the felling caused “disappointment” and “upset” within the community and council.
It reads: “The felling of the trees has caused real disappointment and upset within the local community and for officers of the council who had worked extremely hard to ensure that the trees, some of which are estimated at over 100-years old, were protected.
“Fourteen representations have been received from members of the public with regard to the felling of trees in the Tree Preservation Order area. The council has made an initial submission to the procurator fiscal regarding the felling of trees.
“If the fiscal decides to pursue a prosecution, under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, it can be prosecuted summarily or on indictment. If the fiscal decides to prosecute summarily, the maximum fine is £20,000. If the fiscal decides to prosecute on indictment, there is no limit to the fine that may be imposed.
“There is no maximum fine per tree, although, when deciding on the penalty to be imposed, the court would presumably take into account the number of trees that have been destroyed.”
It adds that Scottish Forestry has also been advised of the tree felling, which could result in a separate report to the procurator fiscal, as permission under the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018, may have been required.
The paper continues: “Scottish Forestry is investigating the matter. This could result in a separate report to the procurator fiscal and a fine of up to £5,000 per tree felled.”
Original tree felling plans submitted during the planning process were amended following discussions with the council to minimise tree loss.
The local authority say it received correspondence from the developer apologising for the felling and explaining that it happened “because contractors had been given a superseded plan showing the location of trees to be felled”.
Campaigners had called on WDC to investigate whether planning permission could be revoked, however this seems unlikely. The report explains: “Court decisions suggest that a planning authority cannot change its mind in this way unless there has been a change of circumstance since the committee originally considered the matter.
“In any event, the planning authority would need to have planning grounds for refusal – so there would need to be material considerations which justify refusal. The conduct of the developer in removing trees would not be a material consideration and so it would not give planning grounds for refusing the application.”
AC Land Regeneration, the company working on behalf of Slate Island Developments, has submitted plans to replant 75 trees. In a report, the firm states: “In response to the inadvertent tree felling within the TPO which took place on the development site at Cardross Road, Dumbarton, on behalf of the landowners, Slate Island Developments, we are presenting our replacement proposal in order to give West Dunbartonshire Council reassurance that the inadvertent removal of the trees will be mitigated by adopting a robust replanting proposal which will be incorporated and embedded within the overall developments landscaping proposals.”
The council’s biodiversity officer suggests between 75 to 100 would be
appropriate. At the meeting, members will be asked to add a condition to the approved plans preventing work from getting underway until tree replacement proposals are
submitted.
