Property developer fined AGAIN for felling timber without a licence 

A property developer who was fined more than £65,000 for chopping down dozens of protected oak trees last month was fined again for destroying more trees.

James Barney, 35, was fined £1,000 on Tuesday after he was caught felling timber without a licence.

Barney, of Hampshire, admitted destroying between ten and 20 trees in March 2020.

This comes after he was ordered to pay £68,031 in fines and costs last month for ripping up 100-year-old oak trees that were subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) in April 2021.

He was hit with the large fine after pleading guilty to breaching tree preservation regulations over the offence.

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Property developer James Barney, 35, (pictured) was fined £1,000 on Tuesday after he was caught felling timber without a licence

He was ordered last month to pay £68,031 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to breaching tree preservation regulations over the offence in April last year. Pictured: Trees cut down at Scoreys Copse on Botley Road, Horton Heath

Barney, who had ‘access to a rich sea of funding’, planned to build two holiday lets on the plot of land he had recently bought, Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard in September. 

Despite the protests of councillors and residents, the developer turned up to the site with a team and a digger to cut down 53 protected oak trees.

The oaks, which had been granted a TPO, stood in an area of woodland at Scoreys Copse, Horton Heath. The order meant the cutting, damage or destruction of the trees was prohibited without the local planning authority’s written consent.

Barney, who lives with his parents in a £2.3million house in nearby Bursledon, claimed he didn’t know about the TPO when he chopped them down – and ‘didn’t believe’ anyone that told him otherwise. 

Last month, he was fined £50,000 after having been prosecuted under the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and pleading guilty to breaching tree preservation regulations.

He was ordered to pay the £17,841 legal costs of Eastleigh Borough Council and a £190 victim surcharge – bringing the total to £68,031.

He was also handed a tree replacement notice by Eastleigh Borough Council – meaning he has to plant 650 new trees to replace the ones he uprooted.

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Now, Barney has been hauled back to the same court and fined further after he admitted destroying between ten and 20 trees in March 2020. Pictured: Trees cut down at Scoreys Copse on Botley Road, Horton Heath

Now, back in the same court on Tuesday, Barney admitted destroying between ten and 20 trees in March 2020.

The destruction reportedly occurred weeks before he submitted a planning application to build holiday lets on a site in Durley, which he had bought for £27,500.

Alistair Haggerty, prosecuting, said the holiday lets scheme was rejected by Winchester City Council and a second attempt to gain consent was also turned down.

He added: ‘A number of people made complaints about the trees being felled. The woodland cannot be easily or quickly replaced.’

John Fitzsimmons, mitigating, said Barney did not benefit financially because his applications to build holiday lets were refused.

However, District Judge Peter Greenfield ruled the work was carried out ‘clearly for a profit’ and ordered him to pay an additional £300 costs and a victim services surcharge of £100.