Tree-felling swap on industrial estate approved

Residents said the mature trees would have helped screen the giant warehouses

A developer that caused uproar by planting tiny saplings to replace the mature trees it had felled during construction of an industrial estate in Lancashire has had the trade-off formally approved by councillors.

HBS Group did not require permission to remove the 15m (49ft) trees from the site, at the junction of Eastway and D'Urton Lane in Fulwood, Preston, because they were not covered by Tree Preservation Orders.

However residents, who criticised the felling, said the mature trees would have screened the three massive warehouses erected on site.

It is estimated their replacements, branded "broom handles" by one angry councillor, will take approximately 30 years to provide similar coverage.

Green light

The firm was not in breach of the planning approval, granted by the authority in April 2021, for the 12m (39ft) trio of grey warehouses - which have since been described as an "eyesore" by locals.

However, the company's original landscaping plan had indicated that the trees surrounding the site would not be cut down.

A revised version of the planting scheme – which includes the 12 infant trees subsequently put in the ground as replacements for the mature trees – has since been given the nod by a majority of planning committee members.

The authority's planning officials recommended approval of the new landscape proposal after attempts to persuade the company to improve it were rebuffed.

The committee had been advised at a previous gathering in December that the redesigned landscaping plan was considered sufficient – notwithstanding the fact it did not "compensate for the loss" of the mature trees in the short term, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

When the matter was brought back before them this month, they stipulated that "heavy standard trees" must be used to replace any of the new saplings that die within 15 years of being planted, but gave the green light to the company's fresh landscaping plan.

City council planning case officer Patrick Marfleet told committee members that, while it "would be nice" to have secured enhanced planting, "the scheme itself is considered acceptable".