cs:torbay:AT/2026/0165Planning Application cs:torbay:AT/2026/0165

Lime (T1) - I am writing to give formal notice under the five day exemption for urgent works to T1 Lime at Warberry Lodge, Higher Warberry Road Torquay TQ1 1SD. The tree is a lapsed pollard that has recently suffered a catastrophic limb failure, resulting in the loss of approximately half of its crown. The failure has exposed extensive, structurally unsound wood at the historic pollard head and left the remaining crown severely imbalanced, with significant torsional loading on the remaining scaffold limbs. The remaining structure is now asymmetrical and unstable, subject to further unpredictable failure, compromised at the old pollard points, and located directly above a regularly occupied garden with pedestrian access beneath the crown. Given the scale of the failure and the compromised structural integrity of the remaining crown, the tree now presents an immediate and unacceptable risk. The situation meets the criteria for urgent works under the exemption. The tree is a lapsed pollard. Although decay is present within the historic pollard head, the management option is to reintroduce the pollard cycle. Re-pollarding will significantly reduce crown mass and place greater leverage on the weakened pollard head, lowering the risk of structural failure while retaining the tree within the landscape. However, it will also add extra stress from heavy reduction and heat waves, possibly causing the tree to weaken further.

AT/2026/0165