minutes

1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Cllr Bulwer declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Minute 2, as he owned a plot of land in that area.

2. BOURNE COTTAGE, 9 FISHBOURNE LANE, RYDE, TREE PRESERVATION ORDER TPO 2005/26

The Chairman welcomed those present to the meeting and introduced the members of the Committee. He outlined the procedure that the meeting would follow.

The Committee received the report of the Head of Planning Services which required the Committee to determine whether or not to confirm TPO/2005/26 – Bourne Cottage, 9 Fishbourne Lane, Ryde which had been made on a woodland. The landowners solicitor had submitted an objection.

As Part of the Councils review of TPO’s an Order had been placed on the site on the 9 August 2005. An area order had been placed on the land in 1991, however this did not include any trees that had grown since that time, therefore it had been considered appropriate that a woodland order be made. The woodland was of high amenity and had a high conservation value, supporting much wildlife.

The landowner’s representative explained to the Committee that his client supported the principal of protecting the woodland, but did not agree with the proposed boundary suggested by the Council. The representative explained that his client considered that the proposed boundary extended into the garden and that the demarcation between woodland and garden had become unclear since it had become overgrown. A site visit was requested to allow members to visit the site and look at the boundary between garden and woodland. Members agreed that a site visit would be undertaken at a time to be arranged.

The meeting was then adjourned and reconvened at County Hall, Newport, Isle of Wight on Tuesday, 7 February 2006 commencing at 11.13 am, immediately following a site visit which had taken place at 10 am.

Present :

Cllrs Whittaker (Chairman), Adams, Cameron

It was confirmed that all Members had visited the site at 10 am which had fully appraised Members of the boundary line.

The landowner’s representative reiterated that his client was pleased the TPO would be there to protect the woodland but believed the boundary should be adjusted to reflect the boundary of garden and woodland.

The Chairman allowed a local resident to speak for 3 minutes, although it was noted that any comments he made were out of the consultation time. The local resident raised concerns regarding drainage, loss of wildlife and that he believed the landowner had applied for a felling license. In light of all the information, the Tree Officer did not share these concerns and also assured the local resident that a felling license had not been applied for. The landowner assured the Committee that there was no intention of felling mature trees.

The Committee considered that the boundary should be re-plotted to the historic boundary represented on site by a derelict fence. Any trees worthy of protection outside of the woodland would be protected by individual TPO’s. For the following reasons :

The Committee felt that the woodland covered by the order was of great present and future amenity being ancient semi natural woodland containing significant Oak, Ash, Hazel and some exotic specimens

The Committee balanced the amenity of the area against the inconvenience to the landowner of the limitations that protection bring to the use of the site and felt that the boundary chosen represents a proportionate and fair balance

It was :

RESOLVED :

(a) That TPO 2005/26 be confirmed with modification in that the internal boundary of the woodland area protected by the order shall extend to the old garden line marked on site by a derelict wire fence. For the avoidance of doubt this will include the line of the derelict fence on the south side of the drive to allow widening of the drive by approximately 1 metre on the southern side.

(b) That the Committee noted that this order would leave some individual trees unprotected and recommended that the countryside department visit the site as soon as possible to :

a) Plot the woodland boundary accurately.

b) Make individual TPO’s on any trees it considers prudent.

CHAIRMAN