Forestry Commission secures record fine for illegal tree felling

Motor Fuel pleaded guilty at Leicester Magistrates’ Court to failing to comply with an enforcement notice served following unlawful felling of mixed broadleaf woodland beside a petrol station in 2019.

They were felled as a pre-emptive action for a future development proposal to extend the premises.

The court ordered Motor Fuel to maintain replanted trees for 10 years and warned that failure to comply could be a contempt of court.

It must pay £268,751, comprising a fine of £266,666, prosecution costs of £85 and a surcharge of £2,000.

The Forestry Commission served Motor Fuel with a restocking notice under Section 17a of the Forestry Act 1967 requiring the trees to be replanted but this was not complied with and was followed by an enforcement notice under Section 24 of the Act.

Charges were brought by the Crown Prosecution Service against the landowner for failing to comply.

Richard Pearce, Forestry Commission area director for the East and East Midlands said: “This case demonstrates how seriously the Forestry Commission and the courts take the protection of trees, woodlands and forests, and the harm caused by illegal felling to the climate and nature”.