What impact will new tree duties have in practice?Well-meant proposals could backfire due to inadequate local authority resources

摘要

Just before New Year, the Government backed up earlier commitments by publishing plans for measures that it says will protect trees in urban areas and elsewhere within the wider aims of its 25-year environmental plan. Two of the four measures introduce new duties on local authorities: a duty to consult on the felling of street trees and a duty to report on numbers of trees felled and planted. A third calls for the production of best practice guidance to support councils in preparing tree and woodland strategies, while a fourth, separate measure gives the Forestry Commission more powers to tackle illegal tree felling.