Proposal to fell a large Leylandii conifer tree located within a conservation area due to structural damage caused to a boundary wall and public footpath, with replacement hornbeam hedging to be planted.

Full Proposal

We are applying for the complete removal of a single, large, multi-stemmed (3?4 main trunks) Leylandii conifer. The tree is no longer suitable for its location and has become a matter of structural damage to the garden wall and untidy dropping of dead brown debris to the public footpath and the neighbouring property. The tree's substantial root system is lifting and destroying the adjacent public footpath. The tree is suffering from branch dieback. The multiple trunks shed significant quantities of needle-like brown debris directly onto the public pavement and neighbouring properties. The lateral root expansion is actively destabilising and cracking the garden boundary wall. It is structurally impossible to repair or rebuild this wall without severing the tree's primary structural roots, which would critically compromise the tree's stability over the public highway. Because Leylandii trees do not regenerate from brown old wood, any attempt to hard-prune or cut back its width to a manageable boundary would result in a permanently dead, brown, and unsightly fa?ade, severely damaging the visual amenity of the area. To enhance the character of the conservation area, we propose completely removing the tree and replacing it by nurturing existing, and where necessary planting new, hornbeam hedging at approximately 2.5 meters high, to match all other external hornbeam hedge boundries between properties on Leegate Close. HAR/CA21.