New rules for tree protection

Marco Peters , Alderman Groen: “In the current zeitgeist, where we see trees as very valuable, it is important that they cannot simply be cut down. This has happened in recent years and so we must protect them. In addition, we are working hard everywhere in the city to make it greener and continue to invest in our neighbourhoods and districts. The new system ensures that a felling permit is reintroduced. We pay extra attention to our residents and keep the regulatory burden low.”

Durable protection 

With the introduction of a felling permit with new policy rules, Heerlen is ensuring a more sustainable and broader protection of its greenery. At first, we only protected valuable trees, but now all trees and stands of trees. We are listening to the growing desire from society to better protect the greenery in the city in order to preserve the values for health, climate and biodiversity. It also ties in well with the Heerlen task to green the city on a large scale.

Tree preservation assessment

We do not fell very thick, monumental trees. We only do this for urgent reasons. For other trees and stands of trees, we weigh the reason for felling against the importance of the tree and the environment. We prefer to keep the tree. When felled, as much compensation as possible must be made by replanting. If replanting yourself is not possible, a financial contribution may be made to a replanting fund. Residents of Heerlen only need to apply for a permit for thicker trees and need to compensate less than non-private individuals. For example, a developer or the municipality itself. In this way, the new rules ensure better protection of greenery without high regulatory pressure for our residents.