Will vegetation around the church be lost?
We entirely share the concern of neighbours to preserve vegetation around the church to the greatest degree possible. We believe that this is good for the environment and will also improve the appearance of the site. The vegetation in the sloping bed between the west end of the church and Kingston Road has not been carefully planned and planted, but has grown up over the years. It is not distinguished planting. We will retain the mature trees to the south west of the building around the war memorial, and where necessary will protect the roots of those trees when the extension is constructed, on the advice of an arboriculturalist. While a small part of the area of existing vegetation to the west will be lost, we will replant the remaining area fully. This is indicated schematically on the drawing 1514.200D, ‘proposed floorplan’ in the application, although it should be noted that the appearance of the vegetation in that drawing is indicative only, and we will seek professional advice on replanting to the greatest extent possible.