Compensation for damage caused by council-owned trees
Case reference FOI2026/01787
Received 27 July 2026
Published 17 August 2026
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following information concerning claims alleging that trees owned by the council, or situated on council-owned land, caused subsidence or other damage to property.
Please include claims handled by the council’s insurers where this information is held by or on behalf of the council.
For each of the financial years 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26, please provide:
1. The number of claims received during that financial year.
2. The total amount paid in compensation or settlement during that financial year.
For the FIVE largest compensation or settlement payments made during the three-year period, please provide:
A. The financial year in which the payment was made
B. The amount paid
C. The type of damage alleged
D. The species of tree involved, where recorded
E. Whether the tree was felled, pruned or retained
F. A brief existing anonymised description of the claim, where held
Please include payments relating to claims received before the requested period if the payment itself was made during the requested period.
Response
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following information concerning claims alleging that trees owned by the council, or situated on council-owned land, caused subsidence or other damage to property.
Please include claims handled by the council’s insurers where this information is held by or on behalf of the council.
For each of the financial years 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26, please provide:
1. The number of claims received during that financial year.
2. The total amount paid in compensation or settlement during that financial year.
For the FIVE largest compensation or settlement payments made during the three-year period, please provide:
A. The financial year in which the payment was made
B. The amount paid
C. The type of damage alleged
D. The species of tree involved, where recorded
E. Whether the tree was felled, pruned or retained
F. A brief existing anonymised description of the claim, where held
Please include payments relating to claims received before the requested period if the payment itself was made during the requested period.
Answer: Please see the attached FOI2026 01787 Response Spreadsheet.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.