M32 Maples: Bristol City Council 'owns' at risk trees

The community group working to save the maple trees says the council's own maps show the authority owns the land the trees are on

People fighting to stop Norway maple trees being cut down to make way for housing claim they are not the property of the landowner developing the site.

Campaigners have gathered documents which show the mature trees fall outside the boundary of John Garlick's land on Lower Ashley Hill in Bristol.

They claim the strip of land the three remaining protected trees are on belongs to Bristol City Council's highways department.

Bristol City Council denies the claim.

The group has called on the council to review the planning permission as they also claim the 2016 application by developer Clayewater did not show the trees had preservation orders on them.

There were five Norway maple trees but two have been felled already as part of the site's redevelopment. The remaining three trees could be cut down on 7 February.

The BBC has not been able to reach Mr Garlick for comment yet.

Anita Bennett from Save the M32 Maples group, said the officer's report for application 15/05530/P acknowledges the council owns the land the trees are on.

It reads: "There is an anomaly in the application which does not take into account the existing highway boundary, which includes the area the trees are currently within."

Two of the mature trees were felled on 13 June 2019

Ms Bennett said this statement was corroborated by a number of documents available from Bristol City Council, including the council's own "Pinpoint" map which shows the trees lie within the boundaries of council owned land.

These boundaries are confirmed by Bristol City Council's Corporate Property document.

However, the council claims the maps are inaccurate. A spokesperson said: "My understanding is that we remain of the opinion that the land in question is privately owned."

He added new maps were being drawn up.

Save the M32 Maples said Mr Garlick had applied to demolish the site on 7 February.

"In view of the legal challenges over land ownership and "anomalies" in the planning process, it is only fair to the Ashley ward to delay any demolition until these matters are cleared up," said Ms Bennett.

The council is due to discuss the matter at the next full planning meeting in March.