Trees & Development

Metcalfe Way, Haddenham (Castlemore Homes Limited)

The protection and retention of trees when developing land and property is always an important factor to consider when preparing your planning application. Thankfully our expert team of arboricultural consultants can support you from initial concept right through to submission and beyond.

Trees provide a wealth of benefits – in terms of amenity, climate, culture etc – alongside their intrinsic value. But trees are not just valuable on their own. Hedgerows and groups of trees running along field margins, for example, provide crucial habitat for nesting birds and foraging corridors for bats. Managing trees and arboricultural features appropriately is therefore essential to ensure their continued benefits for future generations.

In a recent project our arboricultural consultants have been working alongside our ecologists and landscape architects to support our client, Castlemore Homes Limited, in the planning process for their new development of 27 dwellings.

Figure 1: Aerial view for existing site context

As Figure 1 illustrates, existing tree cover is largely confined to the site boundaries and existing field margins. It was also noted that the trees with higher arboricultural value are predominantly located along the eastern site boundary. From the early stages of Nicholsons involvement in the project, it was understood that these trees were to be retained and incorporated into the proposed development.

However, to minimise the potential for harm occurring to retained trees, Nicholsons prepared an Arboricultural Impact Assessment (AIA) report and accompanying plans to identify suitable protection measures.

In this respect, tree protection barriers and temporary ground protection were proposed to minimise potential damage to trees along the northern and eastern boundaries.

The majority of existing trees have been retained and incorporated into the new design as a source of screening and amenity value. Arboricultural input into the design process has also allowed for sufficient spacing between retained trees and proposed dwellings to minimise conflicts and subsequently reduced the extent of protection measures required.

Our involvement and professional advice have enabled the client to submit an attractive planning application which, if approved, will deliver substantial benefits including:

  • Private and affordable housing;
  • New public open space;
  • A net gain in biodiversity; and,
  • An increase in tree cover across the site.

Contact our Arboricultural team on 01869 340342 / contact@nicholsonsgb.com to discuss you planning requirements.