A Bath health centre’s intention to fell a tree to make space for more parking has proved controversial, with the council branding it “disappointing”.
The practice wants to remove the tree on the right
Heart of Bath Medical Partnership submitted an application to Bath & North East Somerset Council to fell a large tree at Oldfield Surgery at Upper Oldfield Park, which is in a conservation area.
The tree is at the front of the building, on the right-hand side of the car park when facing the building.
The application said: “By removing this tree, we can then facilitate more parking spaces for the NHS GP practice. The tree would be removed and the area tarmacked to allow more parking which would be extremely beneficial to the practice.”
The practice acknowledged that the “unspecified” tree is not diseased or in poor condition, nor damaging any property.
It stated that the tree has a preservation order, but in the recent decision notice the council said: “The tree has been assessed for a Tree Preservation Order (TPO ) and a decision has been made not to serve a TPO on this occasion due to the proximity of the tree to the building and future management requirements to contain the size and reduce overhang of the roof.
The council added: “For the purposes of the legislation relating to trees in conservation areas the council is therefore bound to raise no objection to the works.
“However, the response does not infer that the council supports the proposed felling of the tree.”
The council noted that its policies are to tackle the climate and nature emergencies and promote alternative transport methods, adding: “It is disappointing that a medical centre gives greater priority to cars given the wide benefits of trees for the wellbeing of urban communities.
“The contents of the seven objections received also reflect this apparent disparity.”
The decision notice also stated that replacement planting when trees are removed is “vitally important, particularly in our urban environments given the contributory roles which trees play in climate change mitigation and ecosystem services”.
The Echo reached out to Heart of Bath Medical Partnership, asking if it wished to respond to the council’s comments.
