Latest news with #RoyalBorough
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
F1 star Lewis Hamilton is granted permission to cut down more trees at his £18million Kensington mansion
Lewis Hamilton has been granted permission to cut down more trees at his £18million Kensington mansion following a bitter feud with neighbours over his previous plans. The F1 megastar, 40, had applied to cut down four trees at his London home – just three years after he sparked fury over a bid to axe a sugarplum tree despite neighbours claiming he was 'destroying nature'. He submitted an application to fell two apple trees entirely, complaining they are 'poor specimens', as well as pruning back a lime tree and a magnolia that were said to be 'encroaching' nearby buildings. Despite his previous clash with his neighbours, he has been given the green light by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council to carry out the works at his luxury west London pad. The council wrote to Hamilton's tree surgeon Henry Twynam granting him planning permission for the works in spite of the strong objections he has faced in the past. These trees are not under a Tree Protection Order but are still in a conservation area. Director of planning and place at the council, Amanda Reid, said: 'The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea will expect to see two small replacement ornamental trees such as a Japanese maples or Amalanchiers planted in like-for-like or suitable positions. The trees shall be planted in the next planting season following removal.' It was added that the reason for the decision were 'the pruning works are for routine maintenance and the apple trees have limited amenity value.' Neighbours have previously objected to Hamilton's plans to remove historic trees from his extravagant home. One neighbour said: 'These trees are in a conservation area and their removal will be detrimental to Kensington and London in general, which is suffering from increasingly worse air quality. I strong advise the council to reject this frivolous application, which is without merit.' Another added: 'These trees have been there for over 100 years and are part of a magnificent landscaping legacy… their possible demise over time as a result of the construction would seriously impair the value of the neighbouring properties.' The application could re-spark tensions between the Ferrari driver and residents on the plush Kensington street, close to the homes of David Beckham and Robbie Williams. Over the years, Hamilton's agents have submitted more than 20 planning applications on his behalf causing tensions between the Ferrari driver and residents on the plush Kensington street, close to the homes of David Beckham and Robbie In previous years, he's sought permission for all manner of improvements to bring the property up to standards commensurate with his superstar status. These have included the installation of metal entrance gates and the demolition of a summerhouse and the erection of a swanky replacement. Hamilton only received permission to chop down the 'beautiful' sugarplum tree in 2022, after neighbours argued that he would be ' destroying nature' if the tree outside his home was removed. But Hamilton beat out their complaints by providing a report by a tree surgeon which said that the tree was mostly dead and dying anyway. This report swayed the council who gave him permission to chop down the tree entirely and trim back a magnolia tree. Sources close to Hamilton told MailOnline that he was fond of the sugarplum tree but as it was dying he has had it replaced with a similar-looking apple blossom cherry tree. A year later he was also allowed to prune twin poplar trees which tower above his gardens – 'magnificent 'heritage' trees . . . easily identifiable upon approach to Heathrow', according to one local. It was the latest planning battle with local residents over the renovations to his palatial £18million mansion in one of the capital's most desirable conservation areas. The extensive building work includes a rear extension, summer house and new frontage with a larger security wall and gates to 'improve the character and privacy of the building', according to a council planning report. His garden design team, led by Florian McLaren at Highland Aboriculture, previously won permission to trim a Horse Chestnut tree by two metres, with the application form stating the changes are 'to reduce shading and reduce loading on regrowth points'. A neighbour backing onto Hamilton's property supported the application, saying that the large trees can leave 'pigeon droppings' all over their garden. They asked for 'as many as possible of the horizontal branches, that hang over our property, be pruned back', adding that 'the pigeon droppings in that corner can be a nuisance'. In a separate application to the council Hamilton also wanted to chop down an Amelanchier tree, also known as a shadbush. His team said the tree was '80 per cent dead and in terminal decline' and asked to cut back the crown of a Magnolia Grandiflora by one to two metres. In a previous planning application by Hamilton, one neighbour moaned that the 'current owner bought the property for £18million in 2017 and has never set foot in it'. When the racing car driver applied to demolish the existing summerhouse, there were fears from locals regarding the trees and it being used as a party pad. Neighbours expressed concern that the property had reportedly 'remained empty' while they also disagreed that the trees were in 'poor' condition. One said: 'It certainly does not need another house at the rear of its garden, which, if the owner ever does move in, will no doubt be used as a 'party house' away from the main residence, due to the nature of his lifestyle.' Another said: 'They are magnificent 'heritage' trees, which are easily identified from an airplane upon approach to Heathrow Airport. 'The report also describes them both as in 'Poor' structural condition. I hope that this is also incorrect. In addition, they are considered 'post-mature' in age.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Another year of above average council tax rises on the cards?
Just weeks after receiving new higher council tax bills for this year, people in Windsor and Maidenhead are being warned to expect more of the same in in the Royal Borough went up by just under 9% last month. Councillors are already making it clear the chances of limiting council tax rises to the government's traditional cap of 5% are slim to Borough says it's £30 million short of the money it needs every year to run all the services it has to stopping short of promising that it won't cut any services to make up for the shortfall, the local authority is beginning to draw up plans on how it can bring more money into the council's coffers. The Royal Borough's deputy leader Lynne Jones says its also looking at how much more money it can save by making its back office more efficient and says: 'I really can't see any opportunities for cuts to services', adding that 'there is no cutting to be done, it' all been done already'.The council is already in talks with the government over the problems it says it expects to face next year and will put in an official request for extra support within the next few days. It's also trying to get an early message out to tax payers. Tony Travers is a professor in public policy at the London School of Economics and he says: 'The bills for this current year only went out last month and here we are in mid to late May discussing 2026 to 2027."It sounds to me that the council knows it's going to be a challenging year and are getting the electorate ready for the need to apply to the government, either for an above average -so well over 5% I presume- council tax rise, or some sort of other exceptional support they will be lobbying central government for". The borough says that while it hopes to avoid cuts to front line services in 2026 it is looking at how it can deliver nearly £6 million of savings over the coming year. The fine print of how it expects to achieve this will be presented to council leaders and bosses in September. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Air pollution falls across Windsor and Maidenhead
Pollution levels across four hotspots in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead have fallen significantly in the last 2024 the council installed pollution sensors near busy roads in Maidenhead, Bray, Wraysbury and followed 2,000 people signing a petition in 2022 calling on the authority to do more to reduce pollution from car the Royal Borough says levels of nitrogen dioxide in those hotspots have dropped low enough to allow it to spend more time and energy developing borough-wide solutions. It said it would now focus more of its efforts on reducing levels of particulate matter is what is created every time someone drives their car down a road, with tiny fragments of dust released into the air from brake and tyre wear, as well as from the road surface itself. The fragments are so small they can get into people's lungs and bloodstream.A report by the council said air pollution particularly affected the most vulnerable in society - children, older people and those with heart and lung conditions. The Royal Borough is now introducing an Air Quality Management Strategy to help it bring down pollution levels further. It said this would look at how it could persuade more people to leave their cars at home and either cycle or walk to work council also said its plans to change how traffic moves through the heart of Windsor would help reduce levels of both nitrogen dioxide and particulate will see the pedestrianisation of Castle Hill, near to the Castle, as well as a series of other public realm enhancements. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Hundreds of homes approved in Maidenhead after tied vote
A plan for 225 homes in Maidenhead has been approved after a council committee's members' votes were tied leaving the chairman with the casting Taylor Wimpey applied to build the homes to the north of the A404 as part of a second phase of a larger development along Kimbers councillors on the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's Maidenhead development management committee voted in favour of the housing scheme but two councillors were Gurch Singh used his casting vote to approve the project on Thursday. He told the committee that the homes would help to alleviate the "chronic housing issue" in the borough, with 30% of the homes designated as planning application had been deferred in April after councillors said they wanted more information about the quality of trees that will be removed as part of the development council says all of the trees that will be removed "are generally categorised as low quality trees" and "do not appear high quality specimens".The authority's officer said housing would need to cause "significant and demonstrable" harm in order to be refused, but that threshold would not be met with this scheme. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
