Millionaire who felled 28 trees to create room for clifftop pool fined £20,000

A millionaire property developer who cut down 28 cliff-top trees to make way for an illegal pool house has been fined £20,000.

Bill Buckler was given permission by Natural England in February 2021 to cut down trees ‘for conservation purposes’ on the sloping cliff at the end of his garden in Poole, Dorset.

He told the non-ministerial public body that this was to protect the cliff from erosion and improve the habitat of sand lizards, a rare and protected species.

But skeptical neighbors suggested it was more about improving their views, and soon the businessman began building a luxury garden capsule and an infinity pool on the edge of the newly cleared cliff.

Angry locals said he should not be building in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) but Mr Buckler claimed he had held discussions with the council and Natural England and both agreed with his plans.

Natural England was informed of reports of ‘unauthorized excavation’ in the area in early 2022.

After visiting the site to inspect in May and September of the same year, they said the construction work was unauthorized and could be challenged if Mr Buckler followed the proper process.

However, further excavation work continued until February 2023.

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In March last year Mr Buckler was fined £8,812 for breaches under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and £11,187 under an Enforcement Costs Recovery Notice.

Mr Buckler took Natural England to the High Court to challenge the sentence, which he claimed was ‘disproportionate and manifestly excessive’.

He also claimed he had been ‘open and collaborative’ with Natural England throughout the process.

But the judges have now unanimously rejected his appeal in a damning decision, describing it as ‘significantly unfair’.

Mr Buckler bought a 1960s bungalow in the Canford Cliffs area of ​​Poole in October 2019 for more than £3.1 million.

It has been running a £10 million development project since 2020 to replace it with four luxury homes.

Poole Bay Cliffs is an SSSI due to its important coastal habitat and geological features, particularly for sand lizards.

Layers of rock, sand and fossilized vegetation date back thousands of years, when the Isle of Purbeck and the Isle of Wight were a single connected landmass.

Mr Buckler dug into the cliff to install underground concrete pillars for the 60ft-wide cliffside garden room, designed with a viewing platform with a balcony on the roof.

Natural England’s Nick Squirrel said geological features on the protected land had been ‘permanently damaged’ and could not be repaired.

He also stated that trying to undo illegal works would cause cliff instability and put beach users below at risk.

“If the works had been subject to the legally required consultation process under planning and conservation legislation, I have no doubt that both Natural England and the council would have raised strong objections.

“The impact of unauthorized construction carried out at SSSI has destroyed some of the geological features notified to SSSI.

“It is clear that these features have now been lost and that unauthorized piling and construction activities cannot be restored without creating greater risks to both the underlying geological formations and the structural stability of the cliff face, as well as to visitors using the promenade and beach huts below.”

Mr Squirrel added: “It’s very heavily designed for the garden room.

“Our concerns are really about the situation on the Bournemouth cliffs; there are a number of slips at the moment. Our policy is to hold back development to prevent erosion and protect the beach cottages and people below.

“It cannot be repaired, it has been permanently damaged so we now need to look at what compensation can be awarded to cover the loss of the destroyed features.

“Removing all the pillars and concrete would create instability in the cliff. We think it’s best to leave it as it is.”

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Supporting the conservatorship, Judge Anthony Snelson ruled: “We find nothing of substance on any of the individual points of appeal we considered… this is an appeal that is particularly devoid of merit.”

Outlining the facts, he adds: “In early 2022 [Natural England} was made aware of reports of unauthorised excavation works having been carried out at the site affecting geological features of the SSSI.

“Site visits followed, on May 9, 2022 and September 1, 2022.

“It was evident that large quantities of soil had been removed, apparently for the purposes of constructing an infinity pool.

“It seems that the work had been commenced in July 2021.

“In correspondence initiated on June 28, 2022 [Natural England] wrote [Mr Buckler] He requested that work cease until any decision on further steps was made.

“[Mr Buckler] He objected to this but then gave up.

“The apparent change of heart may have been due to US warnings. [Natural England] and the local planning authority said any resumption would be met with Cessation Notices.

“However, the works restarted at fairly short notice (without the permission of the defendant or the local planning authority) and continued until the local planning authority conducted a site visit on or about 28 March 2023 and ordered an immediate halt.

“It was clear from this visit that further excavations were taking place (in addition to the 2021-2022 activities), at least some of which were within the SSSI boundaries.”