Auctioneer who cut down neighbour's tree to improve views from his hot tub ordered to pay record

fine of 125,000
Neil Davey, 51,arranged to have tree cut down as wedding present for wife Protected maritime pine was in Steve Bransgrove's Parkstone garden Davey found guilty of causing or permitting destruction of tree last year He was fined record 125,000 at Bournemouth Crown Court last year Today his appeal against the fine failed, now he must pay extra legal costs
By Harriet Arkell PUBLISHED: 16:19 GMT, 12 June 2013 | UPDATED: 06:51 GMT, 13 June 2013

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Neil Davey, 51, has lost his appeal against record 125,000 fine for felling a protected tree in his neighbour's garden in Parkstone, Dorset

A wealthy homeowner who felled a neighbours tree that was blocking sea views from his hot tub has lost an appeal against the record fine imposed on him. Neil Davey arranged to have the protected 40ft maritime pine tree axed while he and his wife Sheena were on their honeymoon in Paris in 2010. On their return, the 51-year-old surprised his bride with her wedding present - unobstructed views of Poole Harbour, Dorset, from their sun terrace. The enhanced views increased the value of the Daveys' large detached home in Parkstone from 725,000 to 775,000. At Bournemouth Crown Court last November, Davey was found guilty of arranging to have the 55-year-old tree felled and was ordered by a court to pay out 50,000 to make up the difference in his property's value. He was also fined 75,000 fine, a record for the offence of destroying a protected tree, and ordered to pay court costs of 14,500. Davey, who owns an auction house, launched an appeal but rather than quash his sentence, a Court of Appeal judge today upheld the earlier ruling, and ordered him to pay an extra 2,021 to cover costs. Lord Justice Patrick Elias described Daveys act as 'cynical', and said the substantial fine reflected the fact that the crime was one of the most serious of its kind. Following the hearing Poole councils planning enforcement officer, Andy Dearing, said: 'The council is pleased with the Court of Appeals decision upholding Daveys conviction and fine. 'The fine, financial penalty and costs are a clear message to anyone contemplating such an act that the overall cost and reputational damage outweigh any gain, whether it is for a view or a planning advantage.'

Neighbour Steve Bransgrove said the noise of a revving chainsaw woke him up and he ran outside to see the felled tree

An aerial shot showing how the felling of the 55-year-old tree improved the view from Neil Davey's house in Dorset

At his trial, Bournemouth Crown Court had heard Davey had 'paid or otherwise arranged' for friend Thomas McGuire, a tree surgeon, to take a chainsaw to the tree while he was away. McGuire, 34, snuck into the garden under the cover of darkness and chopped down the 55-year-old tree. Davey's neighbour Steve Bransgrove, on whose property the protected tree stood, was woken by the revving of a chainsaw in the early hours of June 20, 2010. He raced outside to see that the perfectly healthy tree had crashed down close to a building, but McGuire had fled.

Tree surgeon Thomas McGuire, left, was asked to cut down the perfectly healthy tree by auctioneer Neil Davey

After the verdict in the court case last year, judge Peter Johnson told auction house owner Davey: 'This was a pre-meditated matter, not something that occurred on the spur of the moment.

'What you orchestrated demonstrated a remarkable arrogance. 'In order to improve your view you arranged for your co-accused to go around to the tree in the dead of night and cut it down, putting your neighbours lives at risk.' McGuire was fined a total of 5,515 for his part in the scheme. Davey had denied causing or permitting the destruction of a tree and McGuire, from Bournemouth, pleaded not guilty to the willful destruction of a tree.

Once the tree was felled, it offered a perfect view over Poole Harbour from Neil Davey's Parkstone home

PROTECTED TREES - AND THOSE WHO WANT TO CUT THEM DOWN

Tree preservation orders (TPOs) exist to protect specific trees which bring a 'specific amenity benefit' to a local area. They can be made to protect any type of tree, by the local planning authority, and they make it an offence to cut down, damage, top, lop or wilfully destroy the tree in question. TPOs do not automatically cover any one species of tree, nor do they cover bushes, hedges or shrubs.

Neil Davey arranged for a maritime pine tree like this one, pictured, to be felled by a professional tree surgeon

Owners of protected trees are still responsible for the tree, but the local authority's permission is usually needed if any work is to be done to the tree. In recent years there have been spates of people damaging or cutting down protected trees to enhance the views from their properties. Authorities in Poole, near Neil Davey's home in Parkstone, have reported several attacks on protected trees around the exclusive harbour area. They investigated incidents including a 100-year-old protected oak having its top lopped off, and a resident pouring cleaning fluid onto another tree in an attempt to poison it. But they said such incidents rarely ended in a prosecution because of a lack of hard evidence.

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Comments (328)
Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all There's a hedge in Newham that needs this man.... - Count Zborowski , Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 13/6/2013 11:16 Click to rate Report abuse The council should plant a fast and high growing tree in the place where the original was felled. Big fine but I suspect it's pennies to this man. Bet his new wife's impressed...? - George W , London, 13/6/2013 10:53 Click to rate Report abuse I hope the tree owner has planted a new one in the same place, maybe a Leylandii. - April , Coventry, United Kingdom, 13/6/2013 10:46 Click to rate Rating 5 Rating 2 Rating (0)

Report abuse Simple solution = when Neil Davey and his wife go on holiday just arrange to have their house demolished - 'to improve the view'. - Gladiatrix , Londinium, United Kingdom, 13/6/2013 10:46 Click to rate Report abuse Deserved everything he got.... you cant go around cutting down trees randomly especially ones not owned by yourself - crispy , london, United Kingdom, 13/6/2013 10:40 Click to rate Report abuse Does this now mean that 'views' have a value in terms of property law ? Current council planning regulations state that no one is entitled to a view and is therefore worthless. This clearly indicates the opposite. So can we now see local councils and developers being sued for destroying peoples 'views' with over enthusiastic house building. - maddog_uk, Banbury, 12/6/2013 20:23 No - a 'view' can have a value in financial terms ie estate agents can put a price on it (as therefore can a court) but there's is still no right to a view in legal terms unfortunately. Court action was brought because the tree had a preservation order on it AND it was on someone else's land not because of any right to a view. - ruralwriter , Lincoln, United Kingdom, 13/6/2013 10:26 Click to rate Report abuse Yes a crime and justifiable punishment, but a real bonus to his next door neighbour.... who now has a great view and no cost! - Maskirovka , Exeter, United Kingdom, 13/6/2013 09:48 Click to rate Report abuse I wonder what the cloth is in the background of Neil Davey? It looks to me like a German ensign from WW2. Perhaps the DM can shed light in this matter. - chelsea , London, United Kingdom, 13/6/2013 09:42 Click to rate Report abuse Ok, Cutting down the tree was wrong, and he should not have done it, but 125,000 fine is really way over the top, there are far worse crimes than this, that don't get anywhere near this kind of punishment, for instance, someone breaking into your house and robbing you would effect you more than someone chopping a tree down in your garden, the legal system in this country is not fit for purpose ! Chisolm Erm, I think someone did break into his house and stole his tree. I also hope he starts a civil action against those responsible. - Drood , Mandurah, 13/6/2013 09:21 Click to rate Report abuse I have a large 50ft + high oak tree at the bottom of my relatively small garden. It has a TPO on it and is generally hated by the immediate neighbours and by those who like to park in the car park that it part overhangs. I spend ages pulling up seedlings in the garden every year but love the tree. In almost every direction bar one, if it fell, it would land on a house and certainly damage property. It will however probably outlive us all. The tree was here well before all of the houses were built around it and people live Rating 15 Rating 7 Rating 5 Rating 6 Rating 16 Rating 3

here from personal choice so no one is forced to suffer as a result of the tree. We need more of them not less. - Jangsix , Peterborough, United Kingdom, 13/6/2013 09:12 Click to rate Report abuse Share this comment The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Rating 33

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