A HEREFORDSHIRE homeowner has been told they cannot cut down a tree on their property, despite fears it is too close to a property.

The applicant had applied to Herefordshire Council to request permission to remove a sycamore tree growing in the back garden of a home in Bromyard's Old Road.

The tree, the application said, is around 50 feet tall and stands just five metres from the home. 

The application was made as it concerned works to trees subject to a tree preservation order made in 1974 although, the application said, the tree itself was believed to be 40 years old and therefore not covered by the order. 

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The application said the Association of British Insurers recommend that this type of tree should be at least 17 metres from a property, while the tree is the wrong type for the small garden it stands in.

But a planning officer's report said the tree was noted on the 1974 protection order, meaning it is covered by the order covering trees in the garden of the home, which was built around 10 years ago.

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The report said the foundations would have been constructed in accordance with guidance for building close to trees and that the owner would have understood the constraint the tree preservation order presented when buying the home.

The tree forms part of a cohesive canopy with other protected trees and, if felled, could leave the others vulnerable to damage, the report said.

It also noted that there are no defects reported to the tree, and no formal report to indicate it is damaging the home.

Consent to fell the sycamore was refused.