Two developers have been found guilty of damaging trees that were obstructing plans for three luxury homes worth £11 million in Dorset's exclusive Sandbanks area. Alistair Collier, 41, from Wareham, and Harvey Lee, 66, from Poole, were convicted of permitting or causing the destruction of five trees after their planning application was rejected in 2010.
The court heard that the pair paid £4.5 million for land in Banks Road with the intention of building three homes valued at a total of £11.2 million. However, an outline application was refused because one of the proposed homes would have been too close to the trees. Weeks later, the trees were found to have been targeted.
The damage was inflicted using a technique known as 'ring barking', which involves slicing into a tree with a saw and removing part of the bark at the base of the trunk, eventually causing it to die. The prosecution by Poole Borough Council stated that specific trees protected by Tree Protection Orders had been deliberately targeted, and the damage was carried out by someone with technical expertise.
Russ Fisher, arboriculture officer at Poole council, described the damage as having 'clinical precision', indicating a professional job. Residents claim that such issues are a continuing problem in the area, where property prices are among the highest in England, with an average house price of £532,652 according to Halifax figures from May.
Lee, speaking after the hearing, said he would appeal against the verdict, stating: 'But unfortunately we know better than judges... simply because we know what we did and what we didn't do and in this case we did nothing.' Both men will be sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court next month.
