City council facing second judicial review challenge over tree felling

A fresh judicial review threat has been made over Plymouth City Council's controversial redevelopment plans, which saw the local authority fell more than a hundred trees on a city street.

Goodenough Ring Solicitors sent a pre-action protocol letter to the council on behalf of Alison White, the founder of Save the Trees of Armada Way (STRAW), late last month, threatening further legal action over a consultation the council conducted in relation to the development.

The dispute dates back to March 2023, when the council conducted a late-night operation to cut down more than a hundred trees on Armada Way. Works were stopped short by a last-minute injunction secured by STRAW.

Plymouth is set to defend its decision against STRAW in an upcoming judicial review hearing.

However, new litigation has now been threatened over a consultation on a revised street scheme that the council launched following the injunction and judicial review application.

The revised scheme builds on the original plan and proposes keeping 13 of the trees saved by the injunction while 'translocating' six trees to somewhere else.

In its letter before claim, STRAW alleged that the consultation, which ran from October through to November 2023, failed to provide enough detail on the project's cost.

It said that the council's original scheme was set to cost £12.7m, but the consultation for the revised scheme stated that "the new improved and more ambitious design is likely to exceed that".

Later, in a Growth and Infrastructure Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting in January 2024, the council revealed that the revised scheme will exceed the original cost and will likely cost over £36.7m, three times the original budget.

The letter before claim said there was no explanation why the increased figures were not provided to the public during the consultation and that the figures - if known at the time - should have been included, given the dramatic increase in public spending.

The letter argued that the council also failed to provide sufficient information about the trees' 'translocation' and the council's plans for its sustainable urban drainage system.

It also argued that the consultation was designed in a "leading" way.

A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said: "We have received a legal letter from the solicitors of Ali White, the founder of Save the Trees of Armada Way, threatening further legal action on the Armada Way project. They have raised a number of points – all regarding the way the recent consultation was carried out.

"Council lawyers are currently reviewing their claims and will be responding. However, the council remains very clear that the consultation was fair, open and in line with national guidance.

"Should any further legal action be taken, it risks further significant delays and costs on the project."

Adam Carey