Landowner and contractors fined £255,000 after admitting to the illegal felling of 270 trees

A Clay Hill landowner and his contractors who illegally felled 270 protected trees have been ordered to pay a quarter-of-a-million pounds in fines and costs by a judge.

The order came after a lengthy investigation and prosecution brought by Enfield Council’s planning enforcement officers, who acted on a tip-off from members of the public who were walking in Hilly Fields Park adjacent to the land where the trees were being felled.

The trees – felled between December 2018 and January 2019 – were covered by a tree preservation order and were sited within Clay Hill Conservation Area, on land known as ‘Kingswood’ in Clay Hill.

The 270 lost trees included yew, hawthorn oak, ash, spruce, willow and poplar and were predominantly located in the bottom south-east corner of the grounds, clearly visible from Hilly Fields Park.

Ali Matur, who owns the Kingswood land; Bush Wheeler Services Ltd, the contractors who carried out the work; and Robert Bush, the director of the company; all pleaded guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court for charges related to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

The three defendants have collectively now been ordered to pay more than £255,000, at a hearing at Wood Green Crown Court.

The judge fined Ali Matur £73,700, while Robert Bush and Bush Wheeler Services Ltd as a company were fined £2,177.50 each. In addition, Matur was ordered to pay £100,000 in confiscation monies under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Robert Bush and Bush Wheeler Services Ltd were ordered to pay £5,200 in confiscation between them. The three defendants were also ordered to pay the council’s costs of £72,083.85.

To help replace the trees that were lost, the council has served a tree replacement notice under the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) Regulations 2012. The notice requires the replanting of 284 trees at the site, which includes oak, sweet chestnut, hornbeam, silver birch, field maple, cherry, scots pines, Corsican, pine and Norway spruce. However, the notice is subject to an appeal by Matur.

For more information about Enfield Council’s planning enforcement policy and to report a breach of planning regulations:
Visit enfield.gov.uk/services/planning/planning-enforcement

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