Mum smiles after avoiding a fine for cutting down a giant protected tree

A mother smiled outside court after avoiding a fine for cutting down a giant tree in her driveway that she knew had a tree protection order in place to protect it.

Kelly Palmer admitted paying a tree surgeon to take down the imposing Ash – which was supposedly a nuisance to the entire street – because it regularly banged into her home in Shirley, Birmingham. He claimed the noise was such a problem that it woke her young daughter.

Her removal of the tree prompted an anonymous complaint to Solihull Council, which prosecuted the 40-year-old project manager, as well as her husband Anthony Palmer, who was eventually cleared of wrongdoing. Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard that the Ash was protected by a Tree Preservation Order in the 1990s before the couple’s home in Wiseacre Croft was even built.

But in September last year, BirminghamLive reported that the council was tipped off that it had been removed without their consent. Ms Palmer pleaded guilty to breaching a provision of the regulations but was given a conditional discharge on Friday, June 21. The same fact was withdrawn against Mr Palmer after he denied it.

Andrew Burton, prosecuting, said: “Permission had been sought from the council for removal by Mr Palmer in 2017. This was refused because the utility value of the tree was high. It was mature and in good health and its felling would cause a significant loss to the streetscape and visual amenities.

“There was no sufficient reason to justify this. There would have been a right of appeal, but that was not exercised.” He continued: “In September 2023, the council received an anonymous report that the tree had been felled. A warning letter was sent to both Mr and Mrs Palmer with a series of questions.

Mrs. Palmer responded. She cooperated fully with the municipality. She explained that she was contacted at home by a tree surgeon who said he was working in the area and noticed how large and close the tree was to their home with overhanging branches at the bottom. footpath.

“He told her that most of the trees had been removed by Ash’s dieback and was extremely surprised that these were still there. Due to the problems they were having, he recommended that the trees be removed. She had no contact details. She came a ​agreed on price and date and paid cash.” A photo of the tree towering over the street from August 2022 still remains on Google Street View. Neil Davis, defending, explained that the TPO was granted in 1995, almost a decade before the couple’s home was built in 2004.

He said: “The difficulties and problems the tree has caused the family are many. When fully grown, the ash tree stood 15 feet from the front door. He blocked the drain, there are indications of that. It caused a nuisance. to the neighbors and there are letters from both the tenant and the resident of (the buildings next to the Palmers). It caused a nuisance and you can see that the branches are in fact when the wind hits their house.

“Their daughter had the bedroom at the front. Lately, she couldn’t sleep because of the strong wind, and the tree knocking on the window scared her. They had to move her out of the bedroom.” Mr Davis added that there was factual evidence of Ash dying back on the tree – as allegedly claimed by the tree surgeon – and that other trees that were the subject of the same TPO had been removed by the council.

He pointed out that Mrs Palmer had pleaded guilty, had cooperated with the authority, had no previous convictions and that the mere summons had been a worrying experience for the couple. “They have suffered enough,” the lawyer said.

Bank chairman Alex Yip told Ms Palmer she could ‘put yourself out of your misery’ as she would be spared a fine. He stated that she had ‘consciously taken this action’, but the circumstances of the case meant the court could impose a conditional discharge of 12 months. However, Ms Palmer was ordered to pay £250 in costs and a victim surcharge of £26.