A mother was seen leaving the courtroom smiling after avoiding a fine for cutting down a huge tree in her driveway that was allegedly a nuisance for the entire street.
Kelly Palmer admitted she had paid a tree surgeon to remove the massive ash tree because it was blocking drains and regularly banging into her home in Shirley, West Midlands, waking her daughter.
This led to an anonymous complaint to Solihull City Council, which prosecuted the 40-year-old project manager and her husband Anthony Palmer, who was ultimately acquitted of wrongdoing.
Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard that the ash tree had been protected under a tree preservation order in the 1990s – before the couple’s house was built – and that the authority had refused their previous application to remove the ash tree in 2017.
But in September last year, the city council received a notice that the map had been torn down without its consent.
Ms Palmer pleaded guilty to breaching a provision of the regulations and was granted a conditional discharge on Friday 21 June. The same offence was withdrawn against Mr Palmer after he denied it.
Prosecutor Andrew Burton said: “In 2017, Mr Palmer applied to the council for permission to fell the tree. This was refused because the tree had high recreational value. It was mature and in good condition and its felling would have meant a significant loss to the streetscape and visual appeal.
“There was no sufficient reason to justify this. There would have been a right of appeal, but it was not exercised.”
He continued: “In September 2023, the council received an anonymous report that the tree had been felled. Both Mr and Mrs Palmer were sent a letter with a warning and a series of questions.
“Ms Palmer responded. She was cooperating fully with the council. She explained that she had been approached at home by a tree surgeon who said he worked in the area and noticed how large and close the tree was to her house and that overhanging branches were falling onto the footpath.
“He told her that most of the trees had to be cut down because of ash dieback and that he was very surprised that there were still some left. Because of the problems they were having, he recommended removal. She had no contact details. She agreed on a price and a date and paid in cash.”
A photo of the tree towering over the road from August 2022 can still be seen on Google Street View.
Defence lawyer Neil Davis explained that the TPO was granted in 1995, almost a decade before the couple built their home in 2004.
He said: “The difficulties and problems the tree has caused the family are numerous. When it was fully grown, the ash tree stood 15 feet from the front door. There is evidence that it blocked the drains.
“The neighbors have been bothered and there are letters from both the tenant and the resident (of the houses next to the Palmers). It has caused a disturbance and you can see that the branches are actually hitting their house when the wind blows.
“Their daughter had the front bedroom. Lately she couldn’t sleep because of the strong wind and was scared when the tree knocked on the window. They had to get her out of the bedroom.”
Mr Davis added that there were indeed signs of ash dieback on the tree – as allegedly also claimed by the tree surgeon – and that the council had removed other trees which were the subject of the same TPO.
He pointed out that Ms Palmer had pleaded guilty, was cooperating with authorities, had no previous convictions and that just being summoned to court had been a disturbing experience for the couple. “They have suffered enough,” the lawyer said.
Judge Alex Yip told Ms Palmer that she could “put herself out of her misery” as she would be spared a fine.
He said she had “knowingly taken this action” but given the overall circumstances of the case, the court could impose a 12-month conditional discharge.
However, Ms Palmer was ordered to pay costs of £250 and victim compensation of £26.