FOI Request - Number of Trees Removed

Request 101003579732

1.  Can you tell me how many trees the council has ordered to be removed in the last 10 years? I would like information on all trees felled by council departments including those on streets and in woodlands.

2.  And how many have been replanted in that period?

3.  Can you specify how many trees were cut down because they faced insurance claims?

4.  Can you specify how many trees were cut down to allow the construction of housing developments? If providing stats going back 10 years is not possible can you provide stats for tree felling for the past 5 or 3 years?

Response 24-06-2024

1. No specific records that identify the number of trees felled in the last 10 years. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

This is something we will be working on in the near future as part of our tree survey and asset recording works so that we can begin to record these consistently going forward.

2. Information regarding 2015/16 to 2021 has been previously published and is therefore exempt under section 25 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, information otherwise accessible. For ease of reference please find a link to the web page here: http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_141471.html

For January 2022 onwards please see below:

3. Not held. We are not aware of any trees removed due to insurance claims. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

4. Not held, neither in relation to Moray Council housing developments nor Development Management. Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

in order to be helpful, please note that any trees identified for removal as part of new housing developments should be shown on plans forming part of the respective application. Planning applications can be viewed on the planning register, which is publicly available information that can be accessed here: https://publicaccess.moray.gov.uk/eplanning/search.do?action=simple&searchType=Application  The advance search function can be used to specify a time period of decisions and “Development Type” can be used to select housing (local and major developments).