The tree, identified as T1 in the attached arboricultural impact assessment, is the mature, large oak, approximately 10m to the south of the pavilion on Warborough Green. The project as a whole is the refurbishment of the sports pavilion to include addition of a third, flexible changing room. This will provide proper and safe changing facilities for female cricketers and junior cricketers playing with the senior teams. The project as a whole will also regenerate an increasingly dilapidated building to secure its future and increase its use as a community asset. The tree works application is required because in order to create a third changing room without increasing the footprint of the pavilion, all storage areas within the footprint are in essence being emptied and must be accommodated in an ancillary building which will enter the extremities of the RPA of T1. As detailed in the report, the intention is to hand dig a shallow footing (3" below surface), so essentially removal of a turf top layer and minimal earth beneath, then installation of a 6"slab as a foundation for the ancillary storage building (which will sit 3" proud of the surface, with ramping at either end to allow wheeled access. This was as agreed with this department when initial applications for funding were being put together in 2018/19. The building will then have a few courses of bricks to provide stability and a robust base for security, and thereafter comprise a timber structure with light roofing shingles, all designed to keep weight to a minimum and to fit with the character of the village. There are no works planned to the tree itself, and the report (from the list of accredited arboricultural experts provided by SODC) notes a neutral impact and strong mitigating measures to ensure no harm.

Sports Pavilion, The Green South, Warborough, OX10 7DR