Fears oak tree in Southampton will fall to the ground

Liam Davis objected to council plans to protect the oak, saying he was “terrified” about what might happen and that he had suffered sleepless nights.

However, councillors sided with officers and agreed to put a tree preservation order (TPO) in place.

The order also covers an area of trees next to Mr Davis’s property in Pound Street, Bitterne, including a council‑owned sycamore.

Mr Davis made his case against the proposals to the planning and rights of way panel on Tuesday, June 30.

He said: “Whenever I heard people outside my house or noises near the tree, I am immediately worried that something has happened because I’m worried that if anything happens in that area the council is going to start trying to blame me for something.

“One simple question I’m going to ask you personally is would you be happy with seeing the oak tree outside your house in its current condition.”

Mr Davis said he did not want to live at the property knowing he was responsible for the tree but “blocked” from cutting it down.

He apologised for cutting the side limb of the oak tree himself and told councillors he now wanted to get a professional tree surgeon to deal with the problem.

Mr Davis said: “I’m simply trying to do the right thing.

“I want to be responsible and be able to just make the area safe.”

Neighbours Michael Lawrence and Rebecca Cardy also voiced frustration over the situation with the trees.

Mr Lawrence said the sycamore tree had been allowed to grow to a height that caused risk to properties.

He told the panel: “We need to come to a common‑sense approach here to thin it out and a substantial reduction of the height getting it away from the roof.”

Ms Cardy said Pound Road was an “absolute wind tunnel”, with fence panels going down and roof tiles falling off properties in the past.

She said: “I would be concerned if that oak tree is not properly maintained or no one is allowed to maintain it then it would be a risk.

“The sycamore at the front is overgrown, it is overhanging the road.

“I have never seen the council come out and do any maintenance to any of the foliage, the trees or anything along that stretch of the park.”

Council tree officer Gary Claydon‑Bone said the trees next to the property had previously been under the management of Active Nation through their lease of Bitterne Leisure Centre.

He said the trees were now back under the authority’s management and he had raised a request for all the laurel trees below the sycamore to be coppiced to ground level.

Councillors heard the sycamore will be pruned back from the house.

On the oak tree, Mr Claydon‑Bone said: “If there’s any concern, it’s still a private tree, so get a tree surgeon involved.

“You can either get a tree surgeon or there’s a consultant that can be involved.

“They can make an assessment of that tree and that report can then be submitted.

“We’ve looked at the tree. We don’t consider anything they’ve supplied to say that it doesn’t warrant a tree preservation order.”

Councillor Dave Shields said the situation had been “quite exasperating for all parties concerned”.

He said: “I just hope in trying to reach an amicable resolution that we can somehow foreshorten these types of disputes so we don’t have to bring it to committee like this and we can get on and meet the needs of that.”

Panel chair Vivienne Windle said: “I don’t see that you’re not allowed to maintain your own tree and make it safe just because it has a TPO on it.

“You need to have a proper tree surgeon to do it and they would provide you with the information you need to apply.”