Developer cleared of deliberately chopping trees in Swansea

A property developer fined after 72 protected trees were cut down for new homes has had his conviction quashed.

Fiorenzo Sauro, who owns Enzo Homes, was personally ordered to pay £180,000 after the trees were felled at Penllergaer, Swansea, in 2018.

But a judge sitting at Swansea Crown Court rejected a claim Mr Sauro had acted deliberately.

However, a conviction for felling a 176-year-old giant redwood tree at the site was upheld by the appeal court.

Mr Sauro was originally found guilty of wilfully destroying the trees by a district judge, following a trial at Swansea Magistrates' Court in 2019.

But addressing the appeal hearing on Friday, Judge Christopher John Vosper said: "We take the view that this was not, as the district judge judged it to be, a deliberate act, calculated to make a profit for the company.

"It seems to us that there was no financial advantage to Mr Sauro in having these trees cut down."

The court heard that Mr Sauro had left his site manager Carl Anderson and contractor Arwyn Morgan to deal with the Tree Protection Order (TPO) granted at the housing development site.

"It was, we are satisfied, not strictly a mistake but rather negligence on the part of Mr Anderson, and possibly Mr Sauro that caused these trees to be cut down," added Judge Vosper.

The judge said that a "couldn't care less" attitude was evident.

"It is quite plain that Mr Anderson had no clear grasp of the position to the respect of the TPO in this case."

While allowing Mr Sauro's appeal over felling of 72 trees, the hearing found the developer had "simply neglected to ensure there was adequate supervision" over the way in which trees were chopped down.

The judge said he would not allow the appeal over the giant redwood, after concluding the site manager had explicitly told the contractor to fell that tree.

The redwood was originally planted on the estate of 19th Century botanist John Dillwyn Llewelyn, and stood 88ft (27m) tall, and 5ft (1.6m) wide.

It was regarded as one of the earliest specimens of its kind introduced into the UK after first being brought over from North America.

A fine of £180,000 for Mr Sauro and a further £120,000 for his company was reduced to a total of £100,000, with £32,500 in legal costs.

His barrister told the court the developer had "suffered greatly" due to a "highly publicised" trial and deeply regretted" what had happened.

The contractor Arwyn Morgan had pleaded guilty to breaching the preservation order and was initially fined £120,000. This has now been reduced to £6,000.