Public Consultation - Private Member’s Bill on improving tree protections in Northern Ireland |
Introduction (Consultation starts 27/11/24, ends 06/03/2025)
Peter McReynolds MLA plans to introduce a Private Member's Bill to improve protection for trees across Northern Ireland. This legislation would seek to strengthen the legal protection of individual and groups of trees, as well as ancient and long-established woodland in Northern Ireland.
A proposed Bill would cover three key areas:
1) Strengthen existing legal protections for trees, by enhancing Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) in legislation.
2) Protect and support Northern Ireland's oldest and most significant trees by creating a new 'Heritage Tree' designation.
3) Safeguard ancient/long-established woodland and legally protected trees from building developments and/or new infrastructure.