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Fury as ancient trees get chop
11:38am Tuesday 25th March 2008
Comments (31)THE destruction of two ancient trees in a Trowbridge neighbourhood has angered some residents who had no chance to defend them.
On Wednesday March 19, neighbours received a letter from West Wiltshire District Council informing them that the two Wellingtonia trees in Rodwell Park, thought to be more than 150 years old, would be felled.
In an attempt to save the trees, resident Angela Honeywell, 37, and her partner, contacted the council immediately to find out what was going on but tree surgeons arrived the next day and began to lop off branches.
Mrs Honeywell, who works at Clarendon College, said: "They are very old, grand trees and it is very sad to see them being dismembered and torn down branch by branch. I'm gutted."
"We had no idea this was going to happen until the letter arrived and it left us with less than 24 ours to react.
"The letter said residents had complained about the trees but I don't know anyone who dislikes them. They are a feature of our street and bring a bit of countryside into our urban environment.
"There is also a family of squirrels who live in the trees who have had a very rude awakening.
"Even if some people had complained the rest of us who enjoy the trees should be given the chance to defend them."
In the letter, Phil Hart from the council's grounds maintenance department said: "Following complaints from residents an inspection of the trees has been carried out which recommends they are felled within a year."
Mrs Honeywell, said: "One of the tree surgeons told me they were diseased. I'm no expert but they look very healthy to me. That is until the tree surgeons cut all the branches off."
Resident John Irons, 56, is a community fire safety officer. He said: "We get home from work and a beautiful tree has become a totem pole. I'm disgusted. I accept they might be diseased and would therefore have to come down but they haven't given us a chance to have our say.
"It's very underhand of the council giving us such short notice. It has taken part of the character of the street away. We want replacements."
The council plans to bring in a crane to help remove the massive trunks once all the branches have been removed.
Your Say YourWiltshire Times
stanhjones, Hilperton Marsh says...
1:53pm Tue 25 Mar 08
There must be a reason - but how sad to see these trees go. I remember them from my boyhood - when they stood proudly in the field behind St. Thomas Vicarage. Just fields then Up to Rodwell Lodge.
YetiJoe, Trow says...
8:36pm Tue 25 Mar 08
If it was the same company then this stinks.
Not saying it did, or did not need to come down, but I am always suspect when someone can earn money out of a decision that their advise is not reliable.
AndrewLye, Pembrokeshire says...
10:00pm Tue 25 Mar 08
There are similar trees in Roger Brown's old house on Hilperton Road. They must be the same age.
Are they diseased as well.
I trust the residents of Rodwell Park are shown the evidence of the disease.
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
11:56am Wed 26 Mar 08
1) Inadequate advice and consultation with local residents. Like no warning at all.
2) No plan to replace the trees if they were indeed diseased.
3) Why clear fell the trees at all?
I've seen the lopped branches and there doesn't appear to be any untoward internal issues. The report should be available to the public and as a matter of courtesy should have been forwarded to Rodwell Park residents prior to the work being agreed
Is this a case of WWDC looking to spend loadsa money on anything before of they get disbanded?
One thing is clear though - this is a high handed, arrogant piece of council work and I for one want to see clear, uneuivocal justification for removing prominent local landmarks.
heather, Trowbridge says...
12:06pm Wed 26 Mar 08
Trowbridge Bloke, Trowbridge says...
12:35pm Wed 26 Mar 08
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
3:00pm Wed 26 Mar 08
Trowbridge Bloke wrote:We don't know that- and there's precious little coming from WWDC that one can believe is there eh?
THEY WERE DISEASED!
Why not puyt the tree surgeon's report up on the WWDC web site and let folk know a few weeks (well, months actually would've been OK according to the story above) ahead.
And you're an expert eh? I bet
Trowbridge Bloke, Trowbridge says...
5:11pm Wed 26 Mar 08
You couldn't see any "untoward internal issues", so they must be fine!
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
9:04pm Wed 26 Mar 08
Trowbridge Bloke wrote:This was done very quickly with very little notice to anybody in the street or folks with an interest - who really do deserve a more fulsome explanation of why the trees had to go.
No, but you obviously are mate.
You couldn't see any "untoward internal issues", so they must be fine!
It seems rushed - and as far as the council's concerned rushed = suspicious >>> deny that!
No options were presented to locals like trimming the trees severely.
And yes - I've seen a few dangerous diseased trees over the years.
It seems bizarre that if a developer wants to chop a tree that's in the way it usually takes months of paper pushing to get permission - when the council want to spend £10K chopping a couple of landmark trees down it takes a day or two...........
Gina, Trowbridge says...
3:10pm Thu 27 Mar 08
As a resident of Rodwell Park I want to see the report on these trees and why it was decided that they should be totally removed. I also, want to know when the preservation orders were lifted. Why we, the residents of the street were neither asked or consulted about what has happened. This is our street and we should have been asked. The council have been under handed and have not given us a chance to have a say over these trees who were over 120 years old, (again, according to the tree surgeons), and OUR neighbours. I do not pay my council tax for the council to act in this manner. I pay it for them to carry out their duties and pay some regard to the opinions and wishes of the people they have responsibilties towards.
Trowbridge Bloke, Trowbridge says...
3:32pm Thu 27 Mar 08
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
8:06pm Thu 27 Mar 08
The Council Lied
Why?
Willful municipal vandalism?
Wanton Environmental sabotage?
Stupoidity?
Greed?
Greasy palms?
Trying to run up debts for the new unitary authority ?
I see they're spending thousands on "no drinking" signs - b l o o d y fools. How about paying for some police to arrest drunks then ?
It's all spend spend spend - I hear from an insider.
I doubt very much that there was any change out of £10,000 for this piece of wanton destruction at the tax payer's expense - I'd like to turn that around and dock it from some folks pay packets!
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
8:07pm Thu 27 Mar 08
Trowbridge Bloke wrote:go and troll somewhere else
Trees ... what have they ever done for anyone?
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
10:13pm Thu 27 Mar 08
Telephone manners could do with a brush up too....
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
10:31pm Thu 27 Mar 08
There is an appeals process to the Secretary of State - obviously someone at WWDC didn't want this - hence the 10 minutes notice of the arrival of the chainsaws.
If a tree is dangerous this can be circumvented but a full report must be submitted and in this case the one year "window of opportunity" quoted seems long enough for a reasonable amount of notice to me made to interested parties.
This is a high handed , incompetent and shameful "piece of work"
YetiJoe, Trow says...
11:19pm Thu 27 Mar 08
We must control our Council's, they serve us folks, not the other way around - that way lies ruin.
YetiJoe, Trow says...
11:20pm Thu 27 Mar 08
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
12:29am Fri 28 Mar 08
Ringo1, Trowbridge says...
6:50pm Fri 28 Mar 08
Ginger, Trowbridge says...
8:41pm Fri 28 Mar 08
Badger, Trowbridge says...
9:08pm Fri 28 Mar 08
What is making us so angry, is the fact that we knew NOTHING of this until the day before, so the council managed to remove the tree preservation order, arrange the felling etc, without any consultation whatsoever with the local residents.
This is just so sneaky and underhand, and if this is our local council then we all need to be worried.
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
2:44pm Sat 29 Mar 08
Can't help thinking though that the folk at Bradley Road are think "can't do anything to us 'cos by the time it gets through the council will be disbanded" so.... it's make wh'hay with the public purse while there's no effective oversight/ accountability - wonder if they'll shred / delete everything before the amalgamation?
Badger, Trowbridge says...
9:42pm Sun 30 Mar 08
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
6:15am Mon 31 Mar 08
Badger wrote:It's not for "them" to let you now anything they are obliged by the terms of the above act to full disclosure on pain of prosecution!
Thats what we were thinking - ''Freedom of information act'' wonder if they'll let us know what really went on under that?
There are a few defenses but categorically none that'll wash in this case.
Councils hate this act - oh, yes they do! :-)
A subject access request is simple to do and there is a time frame for response - failure to comply just makes it worse.....
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
1:39am Tue 1 Apr 08
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
1:40am Tue 1 Apr 08
http://www.wiltshire
times.co.uk/news/lat
estheadlines/display
.var.2149834.0.trees
_initiative_at_cemet
eries.php
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
6:57pm Tue 1 Apr 08
A complete detailed and unexpurgated explanation of this debacle should be made available to all residents of Rodwell Park - coupled to a full formal apology individually to every resident.
Given the disgraceful behavior by the council I think that there should make some considerable effort on their part to make substantial ammends.
These were trophy trees... :-) I do wonder if their photographs are on the "trophy wall" in an office somewhere.
Like for like perhaps?
Somebody should be disciplined too - but we need to know who that someone was eh?
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
11:57pm Wed 2 Apr 08
Maybe it's just the time of year......
moonrakin_wurzel, Trowbridge says...
5:03pm Thu 3 Apr 08
Badger, Trowbridge says...
9:23pm Thu 3 Apr 08
We await the response with interest.
Before the tree surgery...
... and after
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Gina, Trowbridge says...
12:42pm Tue 25 Mar 08
I rang Phil Hart, (from the council), who said replacements will be planted but not the same type. That gives me some hope as I had concerns that there might be other motives for cutting the trees down.
Rodwell Park now feels wrong, as if its oldest residents have been, cruelly, evicted.