Monday April 20th 2026
House in Tyninghame Main Street has been given the go ahead to turn open space outside into a private garden
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A demand that trees included in a new gardens should be checked annually for the next ten years could end up costing the owner up to £11,000 per tree, it has been claimed.
East Lothian planners approved an application to turn open land outside a terraced house in the village of Tyninghame into garden space for the property earlier this year.
However the applicant is appealing after they added a condition demanding an annual review of up to four trees in and around the grounds once work has been carried out for the next decade.
Representatives for applicant Jane Reid, who lives in the property on the village Main Street, say the requirement is “excessive and unduly onerous” for any householder adding two of the trees included do not belong to her and the tree expert who carried out the initial survey for the application had never heard of such a condition being imposed.
In an appeal to the council’s Local Review Body, they say: “The typical cost of a tree report from an experienced arboriculturist at current prices is anything between £720 to £1400 at February 2026 prices. This figure is for one tree.
“If one assumes inflation over the past 10 years comparing and apply it going forwards to the annual fee it will cost the home owner over £11000 for one tree alone. For the four trees stated in condition two this is an extremely onerous burden on the applicant.”
Planners granted permission for work to be carried out to lay some hard standing and install a gate and fencing on the land along with a range of conditions including the one referring to the trees.
They require an annual review of the condition of the trees is submitted to the local authority adding that in the event of one of the trees needing to be felled within ten years it must be replaced.
Planners said the condition was in place to “ensure the implementation of landscaping in the interests of safeguarding the landscape character of the
area and of the Conservation Area.”
The Local Review Body will hear the appeal next month.
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