‘We’re being charged £33,000 for dead trees – why should we have to pay?’

People living on a new estate say they’ve been charged £33,000 for trees that keep dying.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has had two unsuccessful attempts at planting a nature reserve behind its site at Langley Park, in Kent.

But trees have quickly withered away or been destroyed by vandals and the process is now being started for the third time.

Homeowners have been told they have to cover the cost at a charge of £70 each, which has sparked an angry backlash as the trees were a stipulation Taylor Wimpey had to adhere to when given planning permission in 2013.

Victoria Barnard said that she and her neighbours did not object to the amount but the principle.

‘Why are we paying for something that was part of the developer’s planning obligation?’ she said.

‘This is now the third time the trees will be planted. What’s to say they won’t die again, and we’ll be asked to pay again?

‘The parish council reported the (dying tree) situation to Maidstone council last year, and planning officers came out and issued an enforcement notice because the developer had failed to adhere to planning conditions.’

Although Taylor Wimpey agreed to replace the tress at its own cost, there was more trouble ahead.

Victoria said: ‘They replanted them in April, which was the wrong time of year. That’s why they also died.

‘The maintenance team we had at the time were shockingly bad, and the majority of the trees died because they weren’t looked after properly.’

Homeowners were made aware they were being forced to pay for replacement trees in January when they received their annual estate management charge from the private company HML.

The statement included a £70 tree fee, totalling £33,000 for the whole estate.

Victoria already pays the firm more than £250 a year for upkeep around the 600-home estate near Maidstone, while the entire estate pays just under £200,000 in total.

Dean Newell, who has lived in Langley Park since 2016, said: ‘We just need transparency. We want to know what we are paying for and why.

‘We knew when we bought our houses we would have to pay maintenance, but there’s something not right, and it just doesn’t sit well.’

Peoplecontacted Taylor Wimpey and HML for answers and asked to see the results of an arborist’s investigation into the matter.

Victoria said: ‘We were told we are not allowed to see the report. The arborist also said he couldn’t talk to us.

‘When we then started questioning it further and mentioned getting our own specialist, people came and removed the dead trees.’

MP Helen Whately, Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, has now become involved in the situation and has called a meeting to try and resolve it.

She has described the Langley Park situation as an example of ‘fleecehold’, where new-build estate residents are hit with unfair charges.

Taylor Wimpey was asked to explain why residents were being charged for something it had been ordered to do.

In a statement the company said its involvement had largely ended after it planted around 300 trees in 2021, later replanting 103 trees following an enforcement notice last year.

A spokesperson said: ‘We understand some residents have concerns, and we are sorry for any worry this has caused.

‘The reserve was planted during the final stage of the multi-phase development, completed in 2022.

‘As can happen with new planting, some trees did not thrive and we replanted a significant number during the 2024/25 planting season, with a number subsequently replaced due to vandalism.

‘As a responsible developer, we take our environmental and planning obligations seriously.

‘We have fully funded the tree replacement works to date and continue to work closely with Maidstone council and the site’s management company to ensure the nature reserve meets planning requirements.’

HML was contacted for comment on five separate occasions but did not respond.

A Maidstone council spokesperson said: ‘Our planning enforcement team is currently reviewing the matter.

‘As this relates to an active case, we are unable to comment further at this time.’

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