Council secures £420k fines for developer and contractor over felling of rare Giant Redwood and other protected trees

A developer, his company and a tree contractor have been fined a combined £420,000 after breaching tree preservation regulations attached to trees near a site that the company was developing.

Fiorenzo Sauro, director of Enzo Homes, and tree contractor, Arwyn Morgan, were found guilty in August 2019 after a prosecution brought by City of Swansea Council. Mr Sauro and his company had fought the trial, while Mr Morgan pleaded guilty.

Mr Sauro was fined a total of £180,000 plus costs. Separately, his company was fined £120,000 plus costs and Mr Morgan was also fined £120,000 plus costs.

The site was in Penllergaer, and comprised former Swansea Council offices.

Mark Thomas, Cabinet Member for Environment and Infrastructure Management at Swansea, said: "This outcome is a reflection of the hard work the council has undertaken to investigate this environmental crime.

"In monetary terms, these trees held a significant value but no amount of money or fine can replace the value of the trees in terms of what they mean to the community and Swansea as a whole.”

Thomas added: "I would like to thank all the teams involved including our Tree Officers and our legal team.

"Hopefully today's outcome will send a strong message out to developers or the public that removing protected trees without permission is something we will follow up strongly and through the courts if necessary."

The council instructed Annabel Graham Paul of Francis Taylor Building for the prosecution.

FTB said all three defendants had initially argued the prosecution was an abuse of process because the TPOs were nullities as they had not been served on the correct landowner. These arguments were rejected by the district judge.