A formal complaint case has now been lodged by the ONF and your local resident groups with Joanna Killian, Surrey County Council’s (SCC) CEO regarding the Ottershaw roundabout scheme. Its primary issue is the failure of SCC’s contractor ARCADIS to correctly identify and assess the trees within the scheme area for Ancient and Veteran status along with important hedgerows which are afforded the highest protection under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). A further assessment of the trees showed the assessors had used techniques which are not compliant with national policy and British Standards in order to avoid their identification. Veteran trees would require one arm of the scheme to be redesigned in order to avoid damage to them, an issue we have been pointing out to SCC for approaching 2 years before the planning permission was granted. Secondary issues regarding the lack of consideration in the scheme for pedestrians and cyclists have also been raised. The detailed case can be viewed or downloaded here.