The tree was allegedly felled by a new resident on the street, however, Oldham Council has not stated that any wrongdoing has occurred. The Oldham Times has attempted to contact the neighbour.
One resident of Rising Lane in Garden Suburb, who asked not to be named, said she was “most upset” about the changes to the street.
She added: “I was most distressed to see it pulled down because the trees make the area.
“I think they should be accountable for what they’ve done. They didn’t consult anybody, they didn’t do anything.”
Rising Lane is part of the Garden Suburb neighbourhood, which was founded in 1909 by social activist and founder of the Beautiful Oldham Society, Mary Higgs.
Conservation areas are designated as such if the area is deemed to be of “special architectural or historic interest” and any development in these areas is tightly controlled.
The borders of the Garden Suburb conservation area (Image: Oldham Council)
This is in order to “protect and (where possible) improve upon their special qualities”, according to the Oldham Council website, which states that demolition and development of buildings is controlled and “trees are protected” under the conservation area rules.
Any tree works, including trees with Tree Preservation Orders and/or trees that lie within a conservation area, must be approved by the council.
The resident who initially contacted The Oldham Times about the tree, who also wishes to remain anonymous, explained that he had first-hand experience of how strict the rules are when it comes to dealing with trees within a conservation area.
He said: “I’ve got a tree in my front garden and I took four branches off it earlier this month.
“Next minute, the enforcement officer was down, threatening legal action against me because I took a couple of branches off – and this person’s chopped a full tree down.”
When the Oldham Times visited the area, we saw the remains of the tree as well as the damage to the grass verge.
The residents concerned are also in the middle of constructing an extension.
There does not appear to be any recent applications for that address on Rising Lane in the council’s planning portal, with the last application for that address is dated 1988.
Not all single-storey extensions require planning permission, provided they comply with permitted development rules, which includes limitations on height and width.
However, the Oldham Council website states that these rights apply to “non-protected” areas.
The Oldham Council website states: “Designation does not preclude new development or alterations to existing buildings but the Council does have a duty to ensure that any new development enhances or does not harm the character or appearance of the area (this means there may be extra planning controls in place).
“You must contact Planning Services before starting work in a Conservation area.”
In response to The Oldham Times’ enquiries about the house on Rising Lane, Cllr Elaine Taylor, deputy leader of Oldham Council and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said that the council is unable to comment on individual cases.
She added: “However any illegal tree felling or development carried out without the necessary permissions is assessed by our enforcement teams.
“Where breaches of planning or environmental legislation are identified, appropriate enforcement action will be taken.”
Not all residents are concerned about the changes to the street. Another resident of Rising Lane, who asked to remain anonymous, said that there could be a good reason for chopping down the tree.
He said that he believes the trees on Rising Lane have become “too big for their environment” and had even caused problems with drains.
Tree felled on Rising Lane (Image: The Oldham Times)
The neighbour explained: “I had to repair my drain and the guy from the council said: ‘These trees have more legal right to be than you’. So he put me in the place.”
Bad weather can also be a concern. He said: “If you get a storm and you watch the thing moving, you’re thinking: which way is it going to come down?”
He said that there have also been incidents of elderly people tripping up on the bumps in the pavement where the roots of the street’s trees have started to rise.
The resident added: “Trees are nice, but there’s a limit to how big they can actually get. It’s just one of those things. What can you do? You can’t do a great deal.”
The Oldham Times has attempted to contact the residents of the house for comment.