COUNCILLORS will decide next Wednesday (21 October) whether a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) should be put in place at a sprawling golf club site in a village near Maldon after receiving an objection.

The proposed TPO relates to dozens of trees on The Warren Estate in Woodham Walter. Trees at the site of the Warren Golf Course, including Bunsay Downs and Badgers, Woodham Walter, have been subject to a range of different TPOs since October 2018, when Maldon District Council (MDC) first received reports from members of the public about "inappropriate" works being carried out on the wooded areas there.

Separately - and not connected to the matter of the TPO - the Warren Estate hit the headlines in August this year when a planning application for a £7million holiday park development at the site was submitted to Maldon District Council.

The plans for the Warren Estate include a total of 70 new holiday lodges and a new golf academy. MDC has yet to set a date for the application to be considered, but Woodham Walter Parish Council has objected to the plans.

How the Tree Preservation Order came to be served

An emergency TPO was served in October, 2018 after a visit by council officers concluded the trees were at risk. An assessment was then carried out that concluded the woodland at the site was worthy of an Area TPO, which was served on 29 October, 2018.

The trees include oak, beech, sycamore, eucalyptus, Lombardy poplar, holly, sweet chestnut, cedar, weeping willow, ash, elm, purple leaf plum, hornbeam, Scots pine, silver birch, lime, and Norway maple.

Following further site visits by MDC's tree consultant and a planning officer, specific trees, groups of trees and woodlands worthy of retention were identified. The emergency TPO was therefore revoked and a new more specific TPO was served in April 2019.

Then council officers visited the Warren Estate again when more inappropriate works were reported and this, combined with the loss of several trees due to weather conditions, led to the TPO being revoked and the latest version being served.

However, a letter of objection to the TPO has been lodged with the council from "interested parties", claiming the locations of the trees included in the order is not clearly enough specified. This has led to the matter appearing on MDC's North West Area Planning Committee agenda for next Wednesday.

The report from council officers attached to the agenda states: "The trees are a prominent feature that can be seen from public vantage points, including footpaths, highways and the surrounding area and it is therefore considered to be an important landscape feature.

"Given the maturity of the trees and the prominent location within The Warren Estate and surrounding area, it is considered that this woodland landscape plays a significant role in underscoring the value of the visual amenity of the surrounding area."