Oh Nora! A £9,000 fine

Jun 25 2002 By Jane Yelland, The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Nora Batty

A HOUSING developer has been fined £9,000 - after illegally chopping down Nora Batty's trees!

Later the council's tree officer came out on site and confirmed that permission had not been granted and that the trees had been felled without consent.

Mr Macdonald was told by the foreman that the council's highways and planning department had given consent.

But when Mr Macdonald checked with them he found they had not given permission.

Miss Lisa Tye, for Gleeson, said the company accepted responsibility for the offences almost immediately after they had taken place.

It was caused by a breakdown in communication with the site manager and council officers who had granted permission for other trees to be felled in the village.

Miss Tye said Gleeson was renovating a mill in Hollowgate and as part of the scheme it was necessary to remove trees along the river bank, near an access road which Kirklees Council was considering adopting.

Magistrates fined Gleeson £3,000 for each tree unlawfully felled and also ordered them to pay a further £529.29 in costs.

Chairman of the bench, Mrs Naheed Arshad-Mather, said that while it appeared to be a mistake, it was avoidable, and the company must bear the full responsibility for the actions of its employees.