FOI request reveals manouevering behind the scenes at South Cambs District Council

As reported on the front page of today's Cambridge Independent, a Freedom of Information request has revealed that council officers found that trees in Coton Orchard did merit Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) – but then decided to withhold the Orders because it risked becoming a 'political hot potato'.

The application was made in respect of a number of the old Bramley trees, one of which is the second largest in the country and has 'Champion Tree' status. The trees are precisely in the line of the proposed busway and would all be felled, were it to go ahead. Decisions are supposed to take no more than 12 weeks,  but the rejection arrived 275 days later.

As anyone acquainted with the GCP scheme will know, the recommendation that ' the opportunity should be taken to talk with the GCP and their consultants about whether the precise alignment can be adjusted', is clearly laughable.