Plans to cut down two trees in the car park of a Warwick members' club could be thwarted by planners who want to impose a tree protection order (TPO).

The Nelson Club on Charles Street applied for permission to cut down two London Plane Trees last November, saying they were causing damage to the car park's surface.

But Warwick District Council has said there was no "sound and justified reasons for the removal of the trees" and has proposed that TPOs be granted.

"The trees' prominent public location means that they are both readily visible as a feature in the landscape from a wide range of public viewpoints, and so they provide both an individual and collective contribution toward the local amenity," a council report added.

The Nelson Club, which has objected to the TPOs, said the trees are also blocking CCTV cameras installed to stop fly-tipping.

WDC said this was simply poor planning on the club's part.

"The trees are undoubtedly substantial, and their canopies of leaves should have been predicted to be a likely obstruction to CCTV lines of sight when the cameras were sited," the report added.

"The failure of the cameras to deter anti-social behaviours is a reflection of the siting of the cameras rather than the growth of the trees' crowns and canopies.

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"Moreover, the trees are out of leaf for several months of the year when the days are short and there might be an assumption that anti-social behaviours might increase and so their canopies would not obstruct the cameras during those months."

The council also said there was insufficient evidence that the trees, which are around 15m tall, were actually causing any damage to the car park surface.

WDC's planning committee will discuss the application next Tuesday.

(Image by Robin Stott via geograph.org.uk)