Tim Burton has submitted an application to cut down two trees at his £11 million Edwardian mansion, less than two years after winning a contentious planning dispute to fell 15 others.
The Edward Scissorhands filmmaker, 64, of Hampstead, London, wants to cut down a weeping ash and trim back an oak in his front and back gardens, respectively.
It comes just two years after he prevailed in a heated planning dispute with enraged neighbors over his request to remove 15 trees from his property.
This year, Mr. Burton submitted two different applications to Camden London Borough Council via Panda Trees to have the trees cut down and manicured.
Tim Burton has submitted an application to cut down a weeping ash and trim an English oak tree at his £11 million house in Hampstead, London.
Tim Burton, 64, the filmmaker of Edward Scissorhands, was granted permission in 2021 to take down 15 trees on his property following a months-long struggle with local environmental groups.
Honey fungus, a disease that is known to attack and damage the roots of woody and perennial plants, has infected the stem of a weeping ash tree in his front garden.
Photos accompanying the application depict honey-colored mushrooms at the tree’s base and what seems to be growth within one of the tree’s knots.
James Crawford of Panda Trees described the job as follows: “Sectional dismantle due to hazardous infection (honey fungus) discovered halfway up the main stem, with fruiting bodies around the base of the main stem.”
Mr. Burton also plans to prune an English Oak to lower the tree’s weight because its trunk is insecure.
Mr. Crawford stated that the tree would undergo a “slight reduction” due to the weight of its main trunk.
In March 2021, enraged environmentalists protested the removal of a silver bitch and viburnum tree from Mr. Burton’s property.
However, Mr. Burton’s gardening efforts outraged Hampstead conservationists in 2021 when he requested that 15 trees be pruned.
The Hampstead Conservation Area Advisory Committee urged the council to deny Mr. Burton’s proposal; nonetheless, they were succesful as he was granted permission in May 2021, with the authority stating that it had “no objection to tree work.”
This enraged conservationists, who objected to the removal of a silver birch and viburnum that were both subject to tree preservation orders – a statute created by the local planning authority to conserve trees and woodlands in the “interests of amenity.”
What exactly are tree protection orders?
Existence of Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) to safeguard trees that provide a “specific amenity benefit” to a local community.
The local planning authority can use them to protect any sort of tree, and they make it illegal to chop down, damage, top, lop, or destroy the tree in issue.
TPOs do not cover individual tree species, nor do they cover bushes, hedges, or shrubs.
Owners of protected trees are still responsible for the tree, but authorization from the local government is typically required before any work may be performed on the tree.
Landowners are required to replant trees felled without formal authorization.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of people destroying or removing protected trees to improve their views.
Burton claimed that the silver birch and viburnum had died, and Camden Council granted permission two months after the initial application.
After separating from Harry Potter actress Helena Bonham Carter in 2018, Burton purchased the five-bedroom home with a ballroom and roof garden from actor Tom Conti for £11 million.
Mr. Conti, who portrayed Kostas Dimitriades in Shirley Valentine, and his wife Kara Wilson purchased the property in 1985 when it was comprised of flats and transformed it into one of London’s most prestigious residences.
Mr. Conti, who is now 81 years old, was entangled in heated planning disputes with his neighbors, including Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, while he resided in the property.
In 2012, he opposed to the former France captain’s intentions to demolish a neighboring home and replace it with a contemporary one that included a 40-foot fish tank.
Burton is believed to have purchased the home because of its ties to Victorian author Lewis Carroll, on whose works he based the films Alice In Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass.
It was devised in 1903 by the mathematician William Garnett, who was allegedly inspired by Lewis Carroll’s absurdist poem Jabberwocky.
The 6,649-square-foot property features a double-height ballroom that can accommodate 75 guests, as well as a minstrels’ gallery.
It also features multiple dressing rooms, a study, and a “games and dancing” room.
The backyard of the £11 million Hampstead residence formerly inhabited by actor Tom Conti
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