One of the things that the owners of Greenbank Woods will now have to be aware of are the requests to carry out maintenance and to fell trees within their plots.
There are two current requests that have been partially granted, these are for works south of the mentioned property and on the Greenbank Woods East owned land.
There are also applications from earlier this year. This shows how important it will be for the permanent committee to keep an eye on the planning applications as a section of trees have been felled to the west end of the pathed woods and are now quite open.
The permanent committee may want to consider the potential of replanting to bring some life back to this section of the woods as well as to the block by Littlejohn Avenue.
Note that links open to the planning request on the City of Edinburgh Council Planning Portal. The code Tx means tree and the number, usually to identify the exact tree on a map or drawing.
Granted Tree Works:
03/04/2026: 26/0239/TPO: Rattray Loan
Edinburgh Council Planning Application
Trees to the south of Rattray Loan in Greenbank Woods.
4x Pine on property boundary removal of scaffold limbs over garden. Reduction of upper canopies by up to 3m.
Decision:
Refused: 4x pines – reduction of upper canopies by up to 3 metres. Consent is refused for this work as it would involve the loss of a large proportion of the canopies. This would significantly harm the trees and would be likely to cause them to go into decline, which would diminish the amenity value of the woodland strip.
Granted: 4x pines: lateral reduction of northern canopies by 1-2 metres, not to include any height reduction or full removal of primary branches. This pruning will reduce the impact on the gardens while preserving the structure of the trees.
03/04/2026: 26/0238/TPO: Rattray Loan
Edinburgh Council Planning Application
Trees to the south of Rattray Loan in Greenbank Woods.
5 x Pine on property boundary reducing the height and spread by up to 3m, removal of 1x scaffold limb.
Decision:
Refused: 5x pines: reducing the height and spread by up to 3m, removal of 1x scaffold limb. Consent is refused for this work as it would involve the loss of a large proportion of the canopies. This would significantly harm the trees and would be likely to cause them to go into decline, which would diminish the amenity value of the woodland strip.
Granted: 5x pines: lateral reduction of northern canopies by 1-2 metres, not to include any height reduction or full removal of primary branches. This pruning will reduce the impact on the gardens while preserving the structure of the trees.
Previous Tree Works:
28/07/2025: 25/03879/TPO: Rattray Loan
Edinburgh Council Planning Application
4x Corsican pines fell and remove.
Decision:
Refused: Remove four pine trees: consent is refused for this proposal as it has not been justified by the evidence provided. The report submitted describes all four trees as “secure in the ground” and “healthy” and offers a suggestion of pruning work which could reduce the impact of the trees on the property without losing them.
Granted: Four pines (T1, T2, T3 and T4 as noted in the inspection report): reduce branches on northern side of crowns over garden by 0.5 to 1.5 metres in length as recommended in the report. This will reduce the chances of branch failures into the garden while still allowing for the trees to be retained.
25/07/2025: 25/03173/TPO: Drive Square and through eastern woods
Edinburgh Council Planning Application
8 trees felled. 1 felled to 2m. 2 felled to 3m. 2 felled to 4m.
T1 Austrian pine, T2 Austrian pine – Fell retain pecking post @ 3 metres from ground level.
T3 Scots pine – Fell retain pecking post @ 2 metres from ground level.
T4 Scots Pine – Fell retain pecking post @ 4 metres from ground level.
T9 European Larch, T10 European Larch, T12 Ash – Fell to ground level stack all arisings on site.
T16 Wych Elm – Fell retain pecking post @ 4 metres from ground level.
T17 Ash – Fell to ground level stack all arisings on site.
Arbor vitae survey: 1, 2, 3, 4 Corsican pine – Fell to ground level
Decision:
The granted works are considered necessary due to the poor condition of the trees. Whilst there is no replanting condition attached to the decision the local authority would encourage landowners to plant replacement trees within the site to maintain tree coverage.
10/07/2025: 25/03483/TCO: Drive Square and through eastern woods
Edinburgh Council Planning Application
13 trees felled.
2 standing dead sycamore trees and an ash tree, which is infected with Chalara – Fell to ground level stack all arisings on site.
Class 4 ash tree, a birch tree and a dead sycamore – Fell to ground level stack all arisings on site.
T18 Sycamore, T19 sycamore, T20 Sycamore, T21 Sycamore, T23 Sycamore – fell to ground level and remove all arisings.
T24 sycamore, T25 sycamore – Fell to ground level stack all arisings on site.
T26 Sycamore – fell to ground level and remove all arisings.
T27 sycamore – Sectional dismantle to ground level.
T28 Sycamore – Fell to ground level stack all arisings on site.
Decision:
Granted: The tree works within this notice are considered reasonable routine management, enabling the ongoing retention of the tree as a positive amenity feature to the area.