Plan for 319 homes held up by trees appeal

More than 300 homes are proposed for the land off Century Street, Hanley

A developer planning to build hundreds of homes in a city has appealed against a notice ordering it to plant hundreds of trees across the site.

Bluefield Sandbach was told in 2021 by the Forestry Commission that the land off Century Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, must be restocked with 410 trees, which should be maintained for a decade.

The developer argued the trees needed to go in specific areas of the former Century Oils site or there would not be enough space to build the homes on.

A date was being set for a site visit and to hear the appeal, said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Outline planning permission for up to 319 homes on the land was granted by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in November 2023, following an initial decision in November 2020.

In December 2021, the developer was issued with a "restocking notice" by the Forestry Commission, a government department, which ordered it to replace trees on the site.

Restocking notices require an area of land to be restocked with trees and maintained for up to 10 years, depending on the details of the notice.

In contesting it, Bluefield Sandbach's planning representative said if it was upheld by the secretary of state, the land could not be developed for housing.

It would mean the trees would have to be equally spaced across the whole site, they added.

The developer offered to plant 410 trees, they said, but in specific areas so most of the site could still be built on.

No powers to intervene

The appeal hearing was likely to take place in May, the representative added.

The restocking notice from the Forestry Commission was not connected to the local authority and it had no powers to intervene, a city council spokesperson said.

It was a matter to be discussed between the parties involved, they added.

Restocking notice appeals were dealt with by the Forestry Commission who refer them to reference committees, said a Defra spokesperson.

A meeting and date was currently being arranged for such a committee to look at the site and hear the appeal, they said.