Seaside area with tree, reportedly (5)
I believe the answer is:
beach
'seaside' is the definition.
(a beach is found by the seaside)
'tree reportedly' is the wordplay.
'tree' becomes 'beech' (beech tree is a kind of tree).
'reportedly' shows a homophone (sound like).
'beech' sounds like 'BEACH'.
'area with' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for beach that I've seen before include "Area by sea" , "Stretch of coastline" , "Sandy area by water" , "Accessible shoreline" , "Seashore" .)