Islanders asked for views on new laws to make chopping down trees more difficult in Jersey

The public have been invited to give their views on new laws to make tree felling operations harder to undertake in Jersey.

The proposed legislation would require anyone wanting to chop back, or cut down a tree to seek planning permission first.

In 2022, politicians approved plans to protect the island's trees by bringing them under Jersey's Planning and Building Law.

If a felling project requires permission, applications will be considered through a 'prior notification' procedure to consider whether a full application for planning permission is needed or if it can go ahead as 'permitted development'.

A list of exceptions has been proposed, such as removing dead branches or trees that pose a public danger, and islanders can have their say on them at a public consultation until the 23 April.

The Minister for the Environment, Deputy Jonathan Renouf, says: "It is not our intention to create unnecessary red tape, and so this draft order includes a list of permitted operations, and categories of trees for which no planning application will be necessary.

"We need to ensure we get the balance right, so that islanders can still proceed with their gardening and tree maintenance tasks, but at the other end of the spectrum trees that have landscape or other value to the community aren't being chopped down without proper consideration."