Fight to save Wellingborough trees continues as campaigners reflect on 'amazing' High Court hearing

Counsel representing Wellingborough Walks Action Group, residents who joined forces to test the legality of the felling of 16 trees, has completed their submissions at the High Court in London.

The judicial review judgement by High Court judge Dan Kolinsky will not be published for several weeks, delaying decisions about the Route 2 Wellingborough eastern bypass once more.

Sought and paid for by Wellingborough Walks Action Group (WWAG) with £70,000 raised by the community, campaign leader Marion Turner-Hawes said they had achieved something ‘amazing’.

She said: “We haven’t won anything, but we’ve done something amazing. We hope we’ve inspired other people. It’s really important for the people of Wellingborough and it’s been worthwhile.

"We are satisfied because a year ago we didn’t know that we would be sitting in the High Court. We respect the fact that the court heard us, they listened to our case and made every effort to hear us.”

The second and final day saw Stanton Cross Developments’ KC, Saira Kabir Sheikh, assert the felling of the trees by contractor did not constitute the start of work on the site to build a road.

She told those at the judicial review, including Wellingborough residents who had raised £70,000 to have their say in court, that Stanton Cross Developments took a ‘community-friendly’ approach.

Ms Kabir Sheikh said: “It’s absolutely clear that the Interested Party (IP – Stanton Cross Developments) is not going to fell any trees or do anything that it said it won’t do.

"The IP is working with local people and doing its best to reduce the loss of trees. It’s a community-friendly approach. They have bent over backward ”

She said that arguments put forward in court by WWAG’s KC William Upton – that all planning pre-commencement conditions should be met before starting work – would ‘thwart developments’ and possibly would ‘drive a coach and horses’ through future large housing and road schemes such as Stanton Cross across the country.

Arguing that removing the trees of the Wellingborough Walks in London Road should not be seen as ‘implementing’ Route 2, she said that only when the roots of the trees had been removed could work be considered to have started.

She said: “The act of cutting trees is not implementing (planning) permission. It cannot be that simply lopping down the tree starts development. The Tarmac is not there, the roots are still there.”

In response, judge Dan Kolinsky said: “If I adopted your approach, I think the impact would be the developer could clear the site of trees – that feels to be an open goal that the legislation’s not intending.”

He added: “If marking out a road is development, then clearing the way for the road is development.”

Referring to back to events in February 2023, when campaigners stood up to contactors before some were arrested Mr Kolinsky said he had seen photographs of workers on site. At the time, police issued protestors with warnings to leave the area around the trees saying the contractor’s role as ‘statutory undertaker’ gave them a legal right to fell the trees – a role that has been disputed by both North Northants Council and Stanton Cross Developments.

Judge Kolinsky pointed out that Northants Police had cited the role of the statutory undertaker as the basis for moving on protestors.

He said: “It was said by the police when they (protestors) were being arrested. It didn’t stand up to greater legal scrutiny.”

Thanking the legal teams the judge said he would give send his judgement in a written form to all parties.

Yesterday, (Tuesday, May 1) William Upton KC, counsel for WWAG, set out his case to protect the historic trees, arguing that the ‘pre-commencement conditions’ – part of the planning permissions granted in 2008 and then in 2017 – should have been completed before work began to fell the trees in Wellingborough Walks.

All trees on the Walks had each been legally protected by an individual Tree Preservation Order (TPO) – made in 2016 after the removal of some of the trees to make room for a new entrance to Wellingborough School.

Mr Upton had questioned the planning process work saying it should have been in place ‘14 months ago’ but that it was still not in place.

Changes to the existing planning permission, recently submitted to North Northants Council, have been opposed by Wellingborough Town Council at a planning committee meeting last night.

A spokesman for Wellingborough Town Council said: “The Town Council’s Planning Committee agreed to object to applications NW/24/00229/CND, NW/24/00230/CND and NW/24/00231/CND last night.

“The council objected as the applicant has not demonstrated that the proposal is a proportionate solution and does not meet the requirements of sound arboriculture. No evidence has been provided to understand if the removal of these trees, hedges and shrubs is necessary for the construction of Route 2.

“Condition 34 seeks to protect existing landscape features and there is no evidence that the applicant has sought to protect these features and that the works are not ‘prejudicial’ to the existing ecological and nature conservation value of the area. The report included with application NW/24/00231/CND lists the trees as healthy, with only two identified as having major dead wood in the crown.

“The council consider that significant harm to the biodiversity resulting from this development can be avoided. Therefore, the proposed tree loss contravenes paragraph 186 (a) in the National Planning Policy Framework, December 2023.

“Overall, the Town Council does not have sufficient information from the applicant to satisfy itself that Condition 34 has been complied with.”

The consultation period for the new applications has been extended to run for 21 days after the result of the hearing.

Go to https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/applications-appeals-and-enforcement/view-planning-applications-and-mapping to view the applications NW/24/00231/CND, NW/24/00229/CND and NW/24/00230/CND.