A part-time judge has decried “Kafkaesque” bureaucracy in a battle to chop down two trees that he says cause coughing fits and sleepless nights for his young son.
Sam Robinson QC wants to fell the silver birches in the front garden of his Little Venice home, saying the nine-year-old has suffered severe hay fever which has left him breaking out in hives.
When the barrister told Westminster City Council of his plan, a tree preservation order was imposed to protect the character of the Maida Vale conservation area in which he lives.
Mr Robinson handed over “conclusive” medical evidence of his son’s suffering and made a public pledge to plant replacement trees for the silver birches at the family home in Blomfield Road.
But apologetic councillors made the tree protection permanent, which could force Mr Robinson to argue the case in front of a planning inspector. “We are faced with a Kafkaesque problem, we suggest,” he said.
Setting out the effect on his son, Mr Robinson told councillors last Wednesday that symptoms included coughing fits and “breathing difficulties”, which were “particularly bad at night, usually requiring medication”.
“He coughs, he can’t sleep,” he said. “This goes on for not a small amount of time — for three months during the summer we have to live in the house with the windows closed.
“He can’t go into the garden. He has been prescribed medication…it makes him drowsy, it makes school challenging for him.”
The council’s tree officer Rosie Dobson argued the birches made a “positive contribution to the character and appearance” of the area.
Local councillor Antonia Cox said she was “extremely sympathetic” to Mr Robinson’s argument, but added: “There are other birch trees around, and my worry would be the little boy would still suffer from hay fever and have to take medication because of the other birch trees.”
Mr Robinson must now make a fresh application for written consent from the council to chop down the birches.
