Comment
Development Management Policies DPD
Representation ID: 25525
Received: 29/04/2010
Respondent: The National Trust Rayleigh Mount Local Committee
One feature not included in the list is old Orchards/Fruit trees. It is recognised that there is a need to preserve these, as so few now remain. Rarer varieties of apple and pear trees can easily be lost when development rakes place (particularly when only a single tree or a small cluster of trees survive from what was once an orchard, and the significance is therefore not noticed). Unfortunately, fruit trees are not subject to tree preservation orders, so they have no real protection in the planning system. Yet old established fruit trees can be very valuable for wildlife, particularly for bird species, such as hawfinch, bullfinch and lesser-spotted woodpecker.
One feature not included in the list is old Orchards/Fruit trees. It is recognised that there is a need to preserve these, as so few now remain. Rarer varieties of apple and pear trees can easily be lost when development rakes place (particularly when only a single tree or a small cluster of trees survive from what was once an orchard, and the significance is therefore not noticed). Unfortunately, fruit trees are not subject to tree preservation orders, so they have no real protection in the planning system. Yet old established fruit trees can be very valuable for wildlife, particularly for bird species, such as hawfinch, bullfinch and lesser-spotted woodpecker.