TIMB-ERRRRR!
Blundering tree surgeon fells 90ft redwood to make way for housing estate, court told
It had taken 176 years to grow to a magnificent 90ft.
But a giant redwood was quickly reduced to a stump by developers, a court heard. the historic tree was believed to have been one of the first redwoods planted in the UK and had a trunk more than 5ft across.
Along with 70 other trees at the Penllergare Estate near Swansea, it was the subject of a protection order.
But they were felled by tree surgeon Arwyn Morgan, 50, who was clearing the site for 80 new houses, Swansea magistrates heard. Acting on a tip-off, Swansea Council officials visited the site in November and discovered the redwood had been chopped down. the developers, who had legitimately removed other trees, said it has been felled following a ‘misunderstanding’.
Morgan, a self-employed contractor, has already admitted two offences of contravening tree preservation regulations. the firm he was working for, Enzo’s Homes Ltd, and its boss Fiorenzo Sauro, 49, deny the charges.
the redwood had been planted at the Penllergare Estate in 1842 by keen botanist John Dillwyn Llewelyn, who imported trees from all over the world. It was at that time when the first redwood seeds arrived from America.
the court heard that on November 26 last year, Swansea Council tree officer Alan Webster received an anonymous phone call to say it and other trees had been felled.
‘I visited the site the next day at 7.30am and could see that the tree had gone,’ he said. ‘I went into the site office and spoke to the site manager who was working. Detail of the tree preservation order was not displayed, only a site layout plan.’
Mr Webster said some trees within the building site had been spray painted to indicate they were subject to the order, but the felled trees were outside the site. In his opinion, the redwood had been partly dismantled before it was felled and branches would have been cut off – a process that would need two people.
‘Mr Morgan could not have done this alone. this felling would have needed planning,’ he said, adding that the hypothetical cost of replacing the ‘irreplaceable’ tree would be around £250,000. ‘this is ancient woodland dating back hundreds of years,’ he told the court. ‘It is important.’
Alex Goodman, defending Sauro and Enzo’s Homes Ltd, said the order was not served on the firm. the court heard that Sauro emailed council leader Rob Stewart and ‘apologised for a misunderstanding’. He also offered to replant the affected area.
Annabel Graham Paul, prosecuting, said Sauro was aware of the order. A tree protection plan was included when planning permission was granted to Enzo’s Developments Ltd, a separate company of which he is also a director. He either knew the trees were being cut down by Morgan or had been reckless.
the trial continues. Morgan will be sentenced on September 24.