High Meadow, Perrymead, Lyncombe, Bath

These tree works are in 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 area is identified as a significant part of the area’s perceived 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 removal of the 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.