Campaigners secure a victory in battle for ancient oak

Campaigners fighting to prevent an ancient oak tree from being torn down have secured a major victory after an insurance company’s bid to fell it was blocked.

Campaigners fighting to prevent an ancient oak tree from being torn down have secured a major victory after an insurance company’s bid to fell it was blocked.
Linda and Scott Taylor Cantrill have been battling their insurer over the fate of the oak in their front lawn because they say the tree is wrongly being blamed for subsidence on their property.
Furthermore, the pair have also been determined to protect the tree, which has a tree preservation order on it, because of the vital role it plays in their deaf-blind, epileptic son Redd’s mental and physical wellbeing.
The family interrupted their holiday in Cornwall to attend the planning meeting at Exmouth Town Council in person this week (Monday 4 August) and speak out against the application, which had 97 letters of objection to it.
Members of Exmouth Town Council’s planning committee voted unanimously to reject the application to tear the tree down, prompting cheers and applause from members of the public in attendance.
“It was a ridiculous application”, Ms Taylor Cantrill told the planning committee, adding that the tree’s role in her son, Redd’s life was significant.
“Redd will be educated at home, and his sensory, physical education will take place inside and outside in the garden, under the protective shade of the only tree we have been allowed to keep,” she said.
“It provides vital filtered shade for Redd, and is the only protective outdoor space he can safely access.”
The pair said the tree’s shade allows Redd to play safely outside without being in direct sunlight, something that is deemed important by his parents because the prospect of someone with epilepsy having a fit increases in the heat.
The family had previously said if the tree was torn down, it could force them to have to move.
The pair’s insurer, LV= General Insurance, which is owned by Allianz, had already required the Taylor Cantrills to remove all the trees in their back garden – around 20 in all – in the belief it would cure subsidence issues.
Husband Scott, who works in the construction industry, including as a surveyor, said he did not believe the insurance company or its contractors had been robust in their assessments of the tree and the real causes of his property’s subsidence.
“There have been errors in their reporting and there has been no investigation of the house or monitoring of it,” he told the committee.
“No roots have been found around the property.”
Those assertions were supported by East Devon District Council’s arboricultural officer, whose report stated the need to remove the tree “has not been clearly demonstrated within the application”.
The pair said they had suffered a “huge financial cost” in hiring professionals, including surveyors and arborists, to confirm their belief that the oak tree – believed to be anywhere from 180 to 250 years old – was not causing the subsidence at their property.
Following the planning committee’s decision, Ms Taylor Cantrill said it was “nice to have a stress-free sleep” and that the outcome was a “big relief”.
“There was a huge risk for the town council in refusing this application but we have done our homework and proven the tree is not culpable for the subsidence,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service from her holiday in Cornwall.
“We have worked well together with our supporters and there has been a huge financial cost to pull in professionals, but if this is going to be a landmark case, we needed to have done everything correctly so we could prove to other policyholders with TPO trees that it can be done, and to show them not to accept the first load of rubbish presented to them by an insurer.”
Mr Taylor Cantrill said he “commended” Exmouth Town Council for standing up against the application and for “standing with us and adding to the defiance” against the proposal to fell the tree.
“It shows that insurers can’t just put in an application and expect it to go through,” he said.
“But the law needs to change, and the philosophy and practice [of insurers] needs to change too.”
The law change being referred to relates to Section 5 of the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) Regulations, which now holds local councils liable for costs if they reject tree work applications that insurers later claim caused financial loss.
Prior to 2012, so-called Article 5 certificates could be issued by councils to indemnify themselves, but these no longer exist.
The pair said they had been “overwhelmed” by the support shown to them by Exmothians, and highlighted their petition to keep the tree had now surpassed 1,000 signatures.
“Exmouth is well-known for its community spirit, but I hadn’t witnessed anything to this level as we hadn’t been part of a campaign like this before,” said Mr Taylor Cantrill.
“But seeing everyone come out in support of us and agree the tree should stay because they loved it and had known it for years was just fantastic.”
Councillor Dan Wilson (Independent, Exmouth Halsdon), who has supported the Taylor Cantrills’ campaign, said it was “brilliant” that the town council’s planning committee and East Devon District Council’s tree officer had “stood up” against the application.
“I thought LV= would pull the application when it was recommended for refusal (by East Devon’s tree officer), but in a way, I’m glad they didn’t as the outcome has been a fantastic display of people power,” he said.
“I think when the battle first started, it was seen as a David versus Goliath fight, and I think there was some anticipation from people that we would lose, but for us to win is amazing and people are delighted.”
He added the next steps would be to build on the refusal, and the lobbying by the town’s MP, David Reed (Conservative), to try and change the law around these types of tree felling applications.
The Taylor Cantrills said LV= General Insurance had now contacted them, and a meeting is being scheduled to explore solutions to stabilise their house.