Added on 30/12/2011Law Case (1950 +)

R v Test Valley Borough Council Ex P Anne and Anor (2001)




This case involved a Lime tree situated close to a thatched cottage. The tree is the subject of a tree preservation order. The claimants applied for consent to remove the tree and this was refused. They appealed against this decision to the Secretary of State but this was also turned down as its removal could not be justified.

The claimants complained to the council that the honeydew which was secreted by the Aphids and which lived on the Lime tree, was causing a mould to grow on the thatch. They claimed the mould (and its spores) was accelerating the decay of the thatch and also affecting their health. They were also concerned that the tree was unstable as some branches had fallen. A further request to fell the tree was then made claiming that the tree was a statutory nuisance.

After the opinion of an expert was enlisted and inspections were carried out, the council formed the view that no statutory nuisance existed in terms of s79(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990(EPA). The claimants raised action for a judicial review on the grounds that the council had failed to act on their claim of Statutory Nuisance.

The Divisional Court held that the council had acted reasonably and had taken the correct steps in deciding that no nuisance existed. The application for judicial review was therefore refused. Costs were ordered to be paid by the claimants to the council.



•See Arboricultural Association Newsletter Issue 116: March 2002 for related article.




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