Claims ancient Swansea tree was chopped down for profit dubbed 'bizarre'

A property developer has dismissed claims he would chop down a 176-year-old giant redwood for financial gain as "bizarre."

Enzo Homes' Fiorenzo Sauro has appealed £300,000 of fines for ordering 70 protected trees be cut down in 2018.

Swansea Crown Court heard the trees were outside a new housing development boundary in Penllargaer, Swansea.

Mr Sauro was fined £180,000, while Enzo Homes was fined £120,000 at Swansea Magistrates Court in 2019.

"For anyone to say I did it for a financial gain - that's bizarre," the Carmarthenshire developer told the court.

Mr Sauro and Enzo Homes, found guilty of causing or permitting the unlawful felling of an ancient redwood tree, are both appealing conviction and sentence.

Felling contractor Arwyn Morgan, who pleaded guilty to contravening a tree preservation order, is appealing his £120,000 fine for destroying ancient woodland.

On Thursday, Mr Sauro told the court Mr Morgan had "obviously got disoriented and went outside the [boundary] line" of the housing development.

Mr Sauro said he had instructed a tree expert to spray the letters 'TPO' - meaning tree protection order - on trees not to be cut, as well as tagging them.

"I wanted to make it obvious which trees not to fell," he said.

The morning after the giant redwood was cut down, Mr Sauro said he received a call from the site manager to say the the wrong trees had been cut down.

Upon arriving on site following the call, Mr Sauro said he asked the site manager whether the tree in question had been sprayed.

"No," he said his site manager replied.

Mr Sauro said having questioned Mr Morgan about why the tree was cut down he said: "There was dieback on it and it had to come down."

He said Mr Morgan told him the tree wasn't marked.

Mr Sauro was asked what was said after the incident between himself and a tree expert employed to mark the protected trees.

He replied: "His comments to me were that he couldn't reach it.

"I said 'Well hang on, you went around the fence to put the tag on it, so why didn't you spray it?'"

The conversation became heated and the two men did not speak much after that, Mr Sauro said.

The developer said he wrote to the leader of Swansea council to apologise and explain what had happened.

He said Enzo Homes offered to pay more than £3,000 for a new redwood to replace the one felled.

Had his site manager phoned him before the redwood was cut down, Mr Sauro said, he would have told him to let it be.

Jonathan Rees QC, for the respondents, asked Mr Sauro whether he would he have expected his site manager to call if he thought the tree was to come down.

Mr Sauro said: "Yes."

Mr Sauro told the court his company has suffered reputational damage and abuse on social media as a result of the incident.

He refuted the claim Enzo Homes ordered the protected trees to be chopped down.

The case continues.