A HAULAGE contractor from Purfleet has been fined for cutting down a protected mature oak tree on land he owns in Wickford.
Peter Seales, of 17 Juliet Way, in Purfleet, Essex was fined £667, ordered to pay costs of £828 and handed a £66 victim surcharge at Basildon Magistrates’ Court on Friday, August 8.
He pleaded guilty to contravening a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) issued by Basildon Borough Council, in that on October 23 last year he caused or permitted the destruction of a protected oak on land south of St Annes, Southbourne Grove, in Wickford.
Councillor Richard Moore, Basildon Council’s cabinet member for planning said: “I am pleased with the magistrate’s decision as it sends out a very strong message that this, and let’s be frank here, kind of wilful destruction and complete disregard of the law, will not be tolerated in our borough.”
