I simply love the case below. The Upper Tribunal have upheld a damages claim against a Council for their point blank refusal to take their head out of the sand and cut a tree down that was causing damage to the claimant’s conservatory.
It does not surprise me that the Council had their head stuck in the sand. I suppose their heads were only removed at their numerous coffee breaks and when they knock off early on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (they probably have Friday off).
Well done claimants, well done Upper Tribunal. If anyone reading this finds themselves in a similar position, PLEASE contact me! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Richard Howlett
In a ground-breaking decision of interest to property professionals and homeowners, a couple whose conservatory was catastrophically undermined by the roots of a protected oak tree have won £25,000 in compensation from their local council.
The tree, which was protected by a tree preservation order (TPO), reached a height of up to 11 metres and stood just outside the couple’s garden, about 13 metres from their home. Expert evidence pointed to it as the cause of severe cracking in the couple’s conservatory but the council had refused to allow it to be felled because of the impact that would have on the area’s visual amenity.
The couple sought compensation under Section 203 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 after the conservatory had to be demolished and rebuilt. In resisting the claim, however, the council argued that the conservatory had not been constructed in accordance with building industry standards.
Its foundations were extremely shallow and, had it been more solidly built, it would have been better able to resist the pressure of the tree roots. In the circumstances, it was submitted that an award to the couple could open the floodgates to a barrage of similar claims against local authorities in respect of shoddily built structures affected by tree roots.
In upholding the couple’s claim, however, the Upper Tribunal ruled that the damage to the conservatory was reasonably foreseeable. The couple had been perfectly entitled to put their trust in professional contractors they employed to construct the conservatory. It would not have been damaged had it not been for the council's refusal to permit felling of the oak. The council was ordered to pay £25,000 in compensation, plus the legal costs of the case.
