Planning application
68 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Works: Trees
Permission granted. Work must normally begin within three years of the decision or the permission lapses.
Proposal
Holm Oak is located in the back garden and is very close to the rear of the house. The crown is almost touching the windows on the first floor and the guttering and soffits above. We are unable to open the windows of the bedroom closet to the tree due to its proximity and the risk of squirrels and birds entering. The tree's roots are causing considerable damage to the fencing and pavement and the majority of the tree crown overhangs beyond the boundary onto the public footpath and Herbert Road. I am concerned that high sided vehicles will be damaged by the tree. As it is an evergreen tree we do not get the usual autumn leaf fall, instead the leaf fall begins from late May through until mid August carpeting the grass making half of our garden inaccessible for use by our children unless clearing the leaves first. The tree is heavily infested with leaf minor that the tree officer noted at his last visit some years ago and resulting leaf drop has only worsened as the infestation worsens. We can fill an entire green wheelie bin on a weekly basis with tiny leaves just from this tree which makes the garden practically unusable at the very time the garden should be utilised the most. The fallen leaves on the roadside litter the road for quite some distance and aren't collected by the council sweeping machines as per the usual autumn process and so can sit in the gutters for prolonged periods of time. Given the extreme dry weather of recent years this is not ideal and is a potential fire hazard. I am finding it increasing difficult to keep up with the maintenance of the tree.The incredibly thick canopy prevents light from penetrating causing excessive shading and preventing rainfall from reaching any plants or grass beneath it. During high winds the proximity of the tree to the house leaves us particularly vulnerable and we often have branches fall . That situation isn't set to improve as climate change accelerates. As it is an evergreen tree the canopy is permanently full we were very concerned the tree might fall either onto our home or onto the road during high winds or storms. Both outcomes would be horrendous. The risk is greater in the winter with the ground wet and the full canopy acting like a sail. I would like to have the tree cut back, crown reduced by 5m and lifted by 3m and thinned removing all dead wood in the process, as previously granted on two occasions. The lower section of the roadside canopy was cut back last year by a council workforce but this has left the crown unbalanced and unattractive and a council officer visited a few months ago to inform us we had to cut the tree back as it was causing an obstruction. I could only trim back a small section or branched overhanging the pavement which will inevitably grow back again over the summer
As published by the council, reference T0063.26
Application record
- Reference
- T0063.26
- Type
- Trees
- Status
- Tree Work App + Cond Conditions/Reasons
- Decision
- Granted As published: Granted subject to conditions
- Received
- 6 May 2026
- Validated
- 6 May 2026
- Decided
- 9 Jul 2026
- Postcode
- RM11 3JW
Site history
Applications at this address on the Havering register
This site has had 6 applications since 2023: 6 approved, 0 refused.
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T0051.26 Granted
68 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Holm Oak is located in the back garden and is very close to the rear of the house. The tree is heavily infested with leaf minor that the tree officer noted at his last visit some years ago and resulting leaf drop has only worsened as the infestation worsens. I would like to remove the tree and replace it which a deciduous tree that is more suited to a back garden. If this is not possible I would like to have the tree cut back, crown reduced by 5m and lifted by 3m and thinned removing all dead wood in the process, as previously granted on two occasions. The lower section of the roadside canopy was cut back last year by a council workforce but this has left the crown unbalanced and unattractive and a council officer visited a few months ago to inform us we had to cut the tree back as it was causing an obstruction. I could only trim back a small section or branched overhanging the pavement which will inevitably grow back again over the summer
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D0228.23 Granted
68 ERNEST ROAD HORNCHURCH RM11 3JW
Certificate of Lawfulness for detached outbuilding at rear to replace existing
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P0788.23 Granted
68 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Single storey side extension
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D0011.23 Granted
68 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Certificate of Lawfulness for a single storey rear extension & loft conversion with rear dormer and roof lights to rear and front
-
P0052.23 Granted
68 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Porch to front, new wall and gate to boundary
Timeline
Dates from the published record
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6 May 2026
Received by Havering
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9 Jul 2026
Decision issued: Granted subject to conditions
-
26 Jul 2026
Added to PlanIndex
Documents
Plans, drawings, consultee responses and the officer's report
6 documents on file for this application
A planning file usually holds the application form, drawings and site plans, consultee responses, the officer's report and the decision notice.
Watch members (£5 a month) open the document list from here.
Open the documentsWhat this grant of permission means
Havering granted permission on 9 July 2026, subject to any conditions on the decision notice. Work must normally begin within three years or the permission lapses. More in our guide to what happens after a planning decision.
About tree works applications
Applications for works to trees cover protected trees: consent under a tree preservation order, or six weeks notice for trees in a conservation area. More in our guide to planning application types.
Nearby applications
Within 500 metres
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68 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Holm Oak is located in the back garden and is very close to the rear of the house. The tree is heavily infested with leaf minor that the tree officer noted at his last visit some years ago and resulting leaf drop has only worsened as the infestation worsens. I would like to remove the tree and replace it which a deciduous tree that is more suited to a back garden. If this is not possible I would like to have the tree cut back, crown reduced by 5m and lifted by 3m and thinned removing all dead wood in the process, as previously granted on two occasions. The lower section of the roadside canopy was cut back last year by a council workforce but this has left the crown unbalanced and unattractive and a council officer visited a few months ago to inform us we had to cut the tree back as it was causing an obstruction. I could only trim back a small section or branched overhanging the pavement which will inevitably grow back again over the summer
Granted Trees 5 docs -
66 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Certificate of Lawfulness for single storey rear extension, involving internal alterations, change to windows and widening of front door and rooflights
Granted Outline Extension Loft or dormer +1 7 docsSmall domestic -
68 ERNEST ROAD HORNCHURCH RM11 3JW
Certificate of Lawfulness for detached outbuilding at rear to replace existing
Granted Outline 6 docs -
68 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Single storey side extension
Granted Full applications Extension 11 docsSmall domestic -
68 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Certificate of Lawfulness for a single storey rear extension & loft conversion with rear dormer and roof lights to rear and front
Granted Outline Extension Loft or dormer 8 docsSmall domestic -
68 Ernest Road Hornchurch RM11 3JW
Porch to front, new wall and gate to boundary
Granted Full applications Extension 6 docsSmall domestic
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T0090.26 Granted
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T0102.26 Granted
2 Monarch Close Rainham RM13 8SQ
Tree T1. We would like to remove of this tree. It has has a history of problems and it was part of a group of tree's that have all failed and been removed over the years. Pollarding was granted last year due to its size and the fact that a large part of the tree had broken off due to a fungal bracket. It was reported to me after pollarding that the tree had a large cavity just below the main union , approximate size unknown but and least a depth of 300mm. This was a year ago and I have noticed today that there is a fungal bracket coming out of this cavity, I am concerned that it will break and damage neighbours sheds.
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T0098.26 Granted
Mawney Arms Public House Mawney Road Romford RM7 7HT
To crown reduce by approximately 4m in height hand shape Maple trees ensuring that branches encroaching on neighbouring property are reduced and low hanging branches are crown lifted to 2.5m (G1)