Repair of Benefice Buildings Measure 1972

20 Felling of trees.E

(1)Any trees included in the current list scheduled to the report of the diocesan surveyor under section 4(3) of this Measure in respect of a parsonage house shall not be felled, lopped or topped without the consent of the Board, and the timber growing . . . F1 in any churchyard of a benefice shall not be felled without such consent:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply if the felling, lopping or topping is necessary to avoid immediate danger to the occupants of the parsonage house or [F2any other] building or to the general public.

(2)If any such trees are felled, lopped or topped in contravention of this section or any such timber is felled in contravention thereof, the Board may by notice require the incumbent or his personal representative to pay to the Board the amount of any resulting depreciation, as estimated by a diocesan surveyor, of the parsonage house or, as the case may be, the net value of the timber, or such part of that amount or value as the Board think fit, and, if the notice is not complied with, the Board may take proceedings for the enforcement thereof:

Provided that in any such proceedings it shall be open to the defendant to show that the contravention did not cause any depreciation of the parsonage house or that the timber had no net value or that the amount required to be paid exceeds the amount of the depreciation or value, and judgment may be given accordingly.

(3)If it appears to the Board that any timber growing . . . F1 in any churchyard of a benefice ought, as a matter of good management, to be felled, the Board may by notice require the incumbent to fell it and, if he fails to comply with the notice, may themselves do so and sell the timber, and the powers of entry conferred by section 11 of this Measure shall apply for the purpose of such felling and sale.

(4)A notice under the last preceding subsection shall inform the incumbent of his right to make representations and the date by which the representations must be made, which shall not be less than one month from the date on which the notice is sent, and section 4(5) shall apply to the consideration of any representations, duly made by the incumbent, and the Board shall then decide whether or not to proceed with the notice.

(5)The consent of the patron or ordinary shall not be necessary for any felling in accordance with this section.

(6)The net proceeds of any such felling and any moneys recovered by the Board under subsection (2) of this section may be applied for the purpose of planting new trees, and so far as they are not so applied, shall, in the case of timber in a churchyard, be paid to the parochial church council and applied for the maintenance of the fabric of any church maintainable by the council, and in other cases be paid to the Commissioners and treated in the same way as the net proceeds of the demolition of outbuildings of a parsonage house . . . F1, under section 19(4) of this Measure.

(7)Where the expense to the incumbent of felling, lopping or topping any trees in accordance with this section exceeds the proceeds thereof, the Board may defray the amount of the excess.

Textual Amendments