Stirling business owner pushes back against order to replace 'non-existent' tree

The Courier

07-05-2025

A Stirling businessman is taking on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority over a demand to replant a tree that the landowner says never existed.
Sebastian Pietrzak received a tree replacement notice stating that three trees were removed from land at Leny Feus in Callander without authorisation in August 2024.
Mr Pietrzak, director of Stirling renovation company Easy Hire Solutions Ltd, argues that two of these trees, a yew (referred to as T1) and an 'unknown young species' (T3), 'were not present at the specified location' at the time.
He has lodged an appeal with the Scottish Government's Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA), pushing back against the replacement order.
In his appeal statement, Mr Pietrzak wrote: 'We have owned the land since April 2022, and during this time, no tree matching T3's description has ever existed in suggested location.'
According to the appellant, the tree known as T2, a young Norway spruce, 'sustained damage due to an unavoidable safety issue' in April 2024.
Mr Pietrzak says his intention has always been to replace this tree once 'four massive root systems' from other nearby felled trees are removed. Claims of poor communication from park authority
The business owner claims several past attempts to communicate with Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority were not taken seriously.
His statement continued: 'We made several efforts to engage with the Council and show them the work we had completed.
'On 15th August 2024, we were expecting a Ranger Employee to arrive and take photos; however, the Ranger stayed in the van and drove off, implying that our work was not considered important enough to be properly assessed.' The land in question is located just outside Callander's centre. Image: TreasureGalore/Shutterstock
He also suggests meetings were dodged by a park authority senior planner.
'This entire situation could have been avoided had our meetings taken place as planned,' Mr Pietrzak wrote.
'We had photographic evidence to support our case but were not given the opportunity to present it or have our concerns properly addressed.'
The DPEA appeal is now ready to be allocated to a Scottish Government reporter, with a target decision date of July 8.
Elsewhere in Stirling, a legal direction to replant over 800 unlawfully felled trees at a former caravan park has gone ignored for more than three years, with no follow-up action taken.
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