High Meadow, Perrymead, Lyncombe, Bath

The proposed tree works are focused on the garden setting of High Meadow, situated within the Bath City-Wide Conservation Area and the World Heritage Site. The site is also included within the Bath & Bristol Green Belt and the Cotswolds AONB. The wider Perrymead area is noted for its high concentration of tree cover and the semi-rural qualities of the local area, well screened from more built-up residential areas to the south such as Combe Down. The site forms part of a woodland belt, identified as a significant aspect of the wider character area’s open green space in the Conservation Area Character Appraisal: “significant bands of woodland enclose the Character Area, most notably around Rainbow Wood and the upper slopes of Perrymead where it backs onto the Foxhill site.” The residential boundary of High Meadow incorporates areas of denser tree coverage towards the north-west, which opens up to amenity grassland on the south-eastern slopes visible from Perrymead. The character of the area remains primarily one of concentrated planting with views ‘glimpsed’ between roadside trees, and a sustained woodland backdrop to the south-east where this screens the adjacent Mulberry Park development. There is an extensive planning history of tree removal and management across the site.

The principle focus of works would be to a copse of trees located to the south-west of the main building.

The removal of dead and infected trees is clearly appropriate to ensure the overall health of the trees on site. Nonetheless, we take the opportunity to emphasise the cumulative value of tree cover in this area, as part of a larger area of woodland planting, towards the overall character and appearance of the area. We accept that tree removal should be considered as part of a long-term tree maintenance plan where tree felling may be mitigated through planting of suitable replacement species to appropriately maintain and enhance the existing tree canopy.