Trees causing cracks to Fareham house to be felled as council fears insurance company Direct Line

The first three planning applications presented to Fareham Borough Council in September to take out trees valued at over £750,000 were deferred by the committee so more information could be sought.

Five oaks and one lime tree, each over 75 years old, have been identified as causing damage to Mr R Hazelgrove’s 1950s home at 20 Southmead Road.

House insurance company Direct Line requires the trees to be cut down before repairs costing £5,500 can be made to the house. If the trees remained the insurance company would need to underpin the house which would cost a minimum of £125,000.

While the latter option might be preferred in order to save the trees, the insurance company would then try to claim the cash back from the council for repairing the damage. The council members decided that it was not fair for Fareham taxpayers to bear the burden.

Councillor Ian Bastable (Con, Park Gate) said it seems very strange six trees are picking on one house.

The trees to be removed are in the gardens of 33, 31 and 35 Heath Lawns behind 20 Southmead Road.

At the meeting, homeowner Mr Hazelgrove pleaded with the council members not to “prolong” but to make a decision to refuse or approve. He said deferring again would be agony and the cracks could not be fixed.

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Mr Hazelgrove said: “Living with this has been horrendous: we cannot close our windows or doors and the floors move.”

The report used by the insurance company from 360Globalnet said the subsidence damage to the house was from root-induced shrinkage of the clay sub-soil due to the moisture demand of the trees at the rear of the property.

Councillor Joanne Burton (Con, Sarisbury and Whiteley) said the council should make a stand against the insurance company, not remove the tree protection orders and ensure the underpinning is paid for by the insurance company and not the council.

The council’s solicitor, Hilary Hudson, urged caution and assured members that the insurance company would more than likely look to the council to recover the cost of the damage.

Councillor Gemma Furnival (Lab, Fort Fareham) said the insurance company expecting to recover costs from the council makes the level of responsibility they have “just awful”.

Three local residents spoke at the meeting and said they believed that the council had not been given enough evidence from the insurance company, reports being used had changed in emphasis and deferring again would buy the council time to get help from the government.