Our legal representatives have been notified of the court’s ruling to proceed to a Hearing on the Judicial Review but this comes as no surprise.
Following the interim injunction the court was always going to order directions toward a final hearing. Our legal representatives have been in touch with those acting for the protest group in the past week to provide a report which highlights the concerns over the oak tree’s infection with Acute Oak Decline (AOD), and the impact on its life expectancy. We have asked for a response by the end of this week and dependent on that response we will discuss with our legal representatives on the next steps to bring this situation to a swift conclusion.
It remains our belief, based on the extensive evidence available to us, that the removal of the oak and horse chestnut trees is required and we are confident that should the evidence be laid before the court that belief will be supported.
We maintain that a lengthy and expensive court process only exacerbates the issue and given the process is now into its fourth year the ongoing distress of those homeowners affected needs to be recognised.