Agenda item
Tree Management Policy
Brent Council is committed to managing the Borough’s tree stock successfully. The revised Tree Management Policy has been developed to consider the benefits and importance of maintaining our trees. It aims to raise the profile, value and appreciation of trees in the borough, to improve understanding of tree issues, manage expectations and to meet the challenge of adapting to climate change in the coming decades. The revised Policy will be considered by Cabinet at its meeting on 11 December 2017. The Scrutiny Committee is asked to review the policy and provide recommendations for officers to consider in advance of the Cabinet meeting.
Minutes:
Councillor Southwood (Lead Member for Environment) introduced the report setting out a revised Tree Management Policy for the borough. The policy was being presented to the committee for pre-scrutiny, prior to consideration by Cabinet at its meeting scheduled for 11 December 2017. The revised policy had been developed to consider the benefits and importance of maintaining the borough’s trees, aiming to raise the profile, value and appreciation of trees in Brent. In doing so, the policy aimed to improve understanding of tree issues, manage expectations and meet the challenge of adapting to climate change in the coming decades. The revised policy was a comprehensive document which drew together all the relevant services covering the management of trees including Street Trees, Parks & Cemeteries, Planning, Highways and Infrastructure and Housing Management. The policy also set out a risk management based approach to mitigate against insurance claims arising from damage to property and/or personal injury cases caused by trees. Gavin Moore (Head of Parking and Lighting) and Anthony Vartanian (Policy Manager) were present to address the committee’s queries.
During the discussion, members questioned whether the council targeted the planting of new trees to areas most affected by poor air quality and suggested that an aspirational target for the planting of trees in the borough be set. Queries were raised regarding sources of funding, including the use of Community Infrastructure Levy and the Mayor of London’s Tree Fund. Reflecting on the success of other boroughs in engaging community support to deliver tree planting schemes, members queried whether the council had explored these approaches for use in Brent. Questions were raised regarding the maintenance of trees on land in Brent owned by other public authorities, and members asked officers to ensure that the Woodland Trust was consulted on the policy. The committee further requested that, following the meeting, officers provide information detailing the overall budget allocated for the maintenance of the borough’s trees, and data on the number of fines awarded for poorly maintained trees on private land.
In response, Gavin Moore cautioned that there were no resources available to Environmental Services to undertake the planting of trees on any significant scale. Resources were currently focussed on maintaining the borough’s existing trees and replacing, through external funding or resident sponsorship, any trees removed. There had been some success achieved via the planning process regarding the planting of trees in new developments across the borough. In the past, Section 106 funding for new trees had not included any contribution to keeping the trees alive for the first few years so had required match funding from the authority. The Mayor’s Tree fund now focussed on trees in green spaces, rather than street trees. Councillor Southwood emphasised that the team took every opportunity to apply for external funding. She would discuss the value of a planting target with officers but expressed concern that this could create unrealistic expectations. Councillor Southwood further confirmed that she would support consulting the Woodland Trust on the Policy. With regard to the role of the Planning Department in supporting tree planting, Councillor Tatler (Lead Member for Regeneration, Growth, Employment and Skills) agreed to discuss issues of air quality and public health with the Planning Policy Team to ensure that these issues were emphasised through the Local Plan.
Addressing the strategies used by other boroughs, Gavin Moore advised that the Brent representative on the London Tree Officers Association would be asked to explore this issue with colleagues from other boroughs. Councillor Southwood added that the team did consult with other boroughs and noted the revival of the resident sponsorship scheme as an example of this dialogue.
Councillor Southwood confirmed that trees on private land were the responsibility of the landowner. The council did have powers to take action where trees represented a danger to the public and could then recharge the landowner for the cost of the works. This was an issue in Brent with regard to land held by other public authorities and a meeting would be held with the Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment to agree how to respond.
RESOLVED:
i) That officers note the following amendments to the Tree Management Policy recommended by the committee:
· A section to be included on Air Quality, to emphasise the importance of street trees in mitigating the impact of air pollution and to include reference to matching tree planting against pollution hot-spots in the borough.
· The contribution from the Planning Department to be made more explicit to emphasise an authority-wide commitment to maintaining and planting trees.
· A section be included to explicitly outline why street trees are good for the borough.
· A section be added emphasising the opportunities to obtain funding for trees through the Community Infrastructure Levy.
· The dependence on external funding be acknowledged and a section added on the external funding opportunities available to the council.
· The reference to the notice regarding tree removals be clarified to state that this would be provided in all circumstances where it is possible to provide such notice.
· Reference to be included to an expectation that the council would encourage other public bodies who maintain trees in the borough to ensure their trees are appropriately maintained.
ii) That officers ensure that the notice regarding tree removals to be placed on a tree at least 10 working days in advance of the felling date, is sufficiently striking to ensure it stands out amongst other notices that may be placed on trees.
Supporting documents:
- Scrutiny Covering Report, item 7. PDF 76 KB
- Appendix Ai) - Tree Management Policy - Cabinet report, item 7. PDF 107 KB
- Appendix Aii) - Cabinet Report Appendix, item 7. PDF 817 KB