Tree Price Wars, London, United Kingdom

Tree valued at 3 times average UK house price
A tree in the prestigious area of Mayfair, London, has been valued at more than 3 times the cost of the average UK house. The Victorian plane tree has been valued at £750,000 (€934,000) by the new Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT) scheme which was introduced to protect London’s wildlife. The valuation makes Mayfair’s tree the most expensive in the UK but in London alone the collective value of trees is £6.4billion.

CAVAT was set up by London’s environment committee last year following a report by the London Tree Officers Association who assessed that many trees are being blamed for subsidence in homes around the UK capital city and are subsequently taken down. Much of London is built on clay which is more prone to movement and so homeowners and insurance companies have been eradicating trees in these areas.

The average house price in the UK is £240,000 (€299,000) but under CAVAT any homeowner seen chopping down a tree could face a fine of up to three times the value of their home.

Niki May Young
architecture NOW