THE future of a large monkey puzzle tree at Little Witley could be decided by Malvern Hills District councillors this week.

The tree at Dingle Farmhouse is currently subject to a provisional tree preservation order (TPO) which was placed on it after the owner contacted the council requesting help to protect it.

Members of the council's northern area development control committee will decide tomorrow whether to make the order permanent, which would mean any intended work to the tree would require a formal application to the council for consideration.

The council's landscape officer Chris Lewis-Farley says in his report: "The tree is a good specimen of its type and is clearly visible from the well-frequented bridleway running close by. Its status in the landscape will increase as the tree ages."

He is recommending that the TPO is made permanent.

But a neighbour has written to the council fiercely objecting after consulting an independent aboriculturalist and chartered civil engineer.

He says the tree is a long way from Dingle Farmhouse but too close to his own property - the Granary - and claims the roots will damage a boundary wall in the short-term and destroy it over time. Branches already overhang his property and the tree blocks light to the garden all year round, he adds.