Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2022 to Question 98458 on Trees: Biodiversity and Climate Change, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of giving greater weight to (a) climate change and (b) biodiversity for those seeking to grant Tree Preservation Orders.

Trees are at the forefront of the Government’s plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and to help to bend the curve of biodiversity loss. We are committed to increasing tree planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by the end of this Parliament.

As stated in the answer to Question 98458, our guidance sets out that local authorities may wish to take nature conservation importance or climate change response factors into account when assessing the amenity of a tree or woodland, but that these factors alone would not warrant making an Order. The guidance also sets out that Orders should be used where the removal of the tree or trees would have a significant negative impact on the local environment and its enjoyment by the public.