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States Members have been invited to solve a row over contentious proposals regarding the chopping down and pruning of trees – by scrapping part of the planning law.
Deputy Philip Bailhache, the former Bailiff who now represents St Clement, has clashed repeatedly with Environment Minister Jonathan Renouf over the plans.
Deputy Bailhache has lodged a proposition that would repeal the relevant part of the Planning and Building (Amendment No. 8) law and leave landowners free to carry out work on trees without needing planning permission.
The law was passed in principle by the previous States Assembly, with Deputy Renouf inheriting it when he became minister following last year's general election.
The first version of details to the law proposed by Deputy Renouf in March were met with a storm of protest from landowners and tree surgeons, while version two of the amendment to the law was published in September, and attracted further criticism.
Pictured: Deputy Philip Bailhache.
Deputy Bailhache said the new rules were “a gross intrusion into individual freedom”, but Deputy Renouf hit back at the former Bailiff, describing his criticism as “alarmist nonsense”.
The debate on the new proposals was set to take place last week, but then moved to late November, and then delayed again until the new year.
Speaking after lodging his repeal proposition, Deputy Bailhache said: "The whole principle is wrong – the notion that working on a tree should count as development under the Planning law is misconceived and the best option is to repeal that part of it.
"The difficulty [for the minister] has been to try and come up with a compromise that satisfied everyone, but it's been shown that isn't possible."
Deputy Bailhache said he had held "a number of discussions" with fellow politicians and believed there was a "general consensus" that the move he was proposing was the right one.
Tree protection debate delayed again... this time until the new year
Controversial tree rules pushed back again for more discussion
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