Why must our trees have to make way for new homes?

We have all seen the glossy brochures for new housing estates, with their mentions of leafy idylls and arboreal enclaves, evoking images of a mature and tranquil green space in which children play.

But what do you do when you sign the contract and before you can say Fagus sylvatica pendula (weeping beech), the whole lot is cut down and there are an extra 10 semidetached homes going to be built on that spot.

The sad thing is that when a healthy, mature tree is taken down it is “damage that you can never repair”, says Robert Patterson, a fellow and past chairman of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). “While a tree can, of course, be replaced”, he says, “the replacement is obviously not going to be the same.” New trees are of a totally different stature and the prospect of living in a mature, sylvan environment would be greatly diminished.

It seems somewhat unfair that homeowners cannot access grants that are available to farmers and other landowners. This year Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry Pippa Hackett introduced the Native Tree Area Scheme (NTAS) with grants of more than €20,000 under Ireland’s new 2023-2027 forestry programme. The tree planting area can be small, between 0.1 and 1.0 hectares, but it is not open to owners of “ordinary” homes.

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So, what is there to do about preserving your arboreal enclave? The first lesson is not to wait until you are looking at a tree trunk lying on the ground. Checking the planning permission for your potential new home is the important first step. In most cases, local authorities will have required a developer to undertake a tree survey and there will be drawings and maps that indicate what trees are to be retained alongside a planting layout, says Robinson.

Kieran Garry, a spokesman for the SCSI, says it would be good advice to go even further and check the planning permission or applications for neighbouring estates.

Crann, which promotes the planting and protection of trees, and whose patron is President Michael D Higgins, points out that local authorities make tree-preservation orders where it is considered desirable to preserve trees on amenity grounds.

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Crann advises that to get a specific tree protected with a tree-protection order, a person should write to their local planning authority – usually the local county council – with a map of where the tree is with the reasons why they think it should be protected.

The protection order “prevents the cutting down, topping, lopping or wilful destruction of trees without the specific consent of the planning authority,” according to Crann.

The Department of Housing says the Planning and Development Act, which provides the legal basis for tree-protection orders, also creates mandatory rules for local authority development plans, many of them reflecting EU directives on protected areas. On the face of it, it looks like a lot of protection, but once a county or city development plan can show it has had regard to preservation objectives, it may or may not have designated trees in your individual development for protection.

A key piece of legislation covering the felling of trees is the Forestry Act 2014. It asserts that tree-protection orders do not apply to trees that are dead or dying or have become dangerous. In addition, if a tree has power lines caught in its branches, the ESB can fell the tree even if it has a protection order. A whole raft of other bodies have similar exemptions under separate legislation and these include, but are not limited to, Bord Gáis, Aer Rianta, CIÉ, any telephone/mobile network operator and Inland Fisheries Ireland.

Homeowners, too, may claim an exemption in felling a tree that is within 30.8m (100ft) of a house on the basis that it could be dangerous.

However, it is important to note that when claiming trees are exempt, the Forest Service must be notified in advance, and it will decide if the trees are in factexempt. The 2014 Forestry Act specifies that it is an offence to fell trees without a licence or agreed exemption.

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Trees and hedges are one of the most common causes of neighbour disputes, according to the Tree Council of Ireland. The rights and responsibilities of tree ownership are complex, it says, and advises the best way to resolve problems is to talk to the neighbours.

If talking doesn’t work, the 2014 Forestry Act provides for enforcement by the Garda, who may prosecute offenders in the courts. Under the Act, significant penalties apply for illegal felling or removal of trees. These include a fine of up to €200 for every tree in respect of which the offence was committed on a summary conviction, up to a total of €5,000, up to six months imprisonment or both.

On conviction on indictment, which is a process the courts use for more serious offences, the penalty may be fine of up to €1 million, imprisonment for up to five years or both.

For developers, it would make good sense to check.