Lidl’s objection to Crawley tree preservation order considered
An objection from Lidl about a tree preservation order at its Crawley site has been considered by the borough council.
During a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday, August 26, it was agreed that the Order protecting more than 40 trees would stay in place.
For the past few months, work has been carried out on the site in Haslett Avenue East to convert what used to be branches of Iceland and Lidl into one large Lidl store.
An objection from the company focused on 29 cypress trees on the east of the site, and said they would overhang the plant equipment servicing the store.
The objection said: “For these to be under [an order] would incredibly limit Lidl’s ability to responsibly manage and service the plant area; a matter of safety for our staff and members of the public, as well as the risk to Lidl’s health and safety and food safety standards if the plant lost efficiency while awaiting consent to action works to the trees.”
But the council’s planning officer pointed out that a preservation order being in place did not mean trees could not be trimmed ‘when necessary and justified’.
She added: “The species type is such that, if clearance pruning is needed, consent is likely to only be necessary once as the branches are unlikely to regrow.”
As well as the cypress, the order covers six ash trees, one goat willow and six whitebeams on the western boundary of the site.
Lidl is expected to be open for business on September 25.