People power saves 100-year-old trees from ‘council axeman’

Three trees have been saved from ‘the council axemen’ after locals came out to protect them. Residents had threatened to park their cars alongside the trees on Bagnall Road, Milton,^[1] to stop workers felling them.

Now Stoke-on-Trent City Council ^[2] has backed down and agreed not to chop the 100-year-old linden trees, despite having previously suggested they were causing an obstruction. The authority confirmed the planned works have now been cancelled and will be reviewed.

A note attached to one of the trees by local residents stated: “No one was informed of these proposals. No letters, no consultation.

“The reason does not make sense – to cut down three lovely healthy trees when there are road sign poles just before the trees and another example is the lamp post at the corner of Bagnall Road and Leek Road that surely is an obstruction.

READ: Milton care home that ‘placed people at risk of harm’ told to improve ^[3] Residents’ medicines were not being safely managed when inspectors turned up

READ:Callous owner left guard dog to starve to death in freezing yard ^[4] Storm and two other dogs were left in freezing temperatures with no food or bedding

“This decision seems to have been rushed through with the hope that they would be cut down before anyone could object.”

Resident Andrew Stanistreet doesn’t believe the trees cause anybody any nuisance. He said: “The only time there’s an obstruction is when the council doesn’t cut the growth at the bottom of the trees and they let it go wild. They’re just beautiful trees, harming nobody.”

The letter that has been attached to one of the trees

He speculated that the council might have wanted to remove them to save on maintenance costs, and said he was also worried the decision was made without residents’ input.

He said: “It’s absolutely outrageous. There’s been no consultation, nobody’s said anything.

“They’ve been there 100 years, they’re not rotten. They literally cause no problem to anybody. It’s environmental vandalism of the worst kind.”

Business owner Steven Hyde, who runs Autohose and Restoration Products, was similarly bewildered by the council’s initial plans.

He said: “The trees have been there for well over 100 years and nobody has complained about obstructions before. If they want to talk about obstructions, if you go round the corner the pavement is only two feet wide, and there’s a lamppost in the middle.

Residents fought to save the trees

“People have been moaning about it for years and years to the council, and nothing’s ever been done about that.”

He too was frustrated that there’d been no communication with local people. He said: “Nobody’s received any letters, there’s been no consultation to say what work will be done.

“As a business, we’ve not been informed the road is going to be shut down for three days – just signs went up. The only way we found out, when a workman was putting the signs out I asked him what was going on and he told me. It’s no way of doing things, really.

“The trees have been there for nearly 100 years – it’s part of the history of the town. You want a bit of green, especially the days when they’re telling you to plant more trees not cut them down.”

His brother, Mike Hyde, believes better maintenance is the solution. He said: “They used to cut it two or three times a year, they only cut it once a year now. They should cut it more.

The trees were under threat

“There used to be another one, but that had cancer and they cut that down over 10 years ago. That’s fair enough, if they’re rotten or diseased.

“But just to come for the sake of it is shocking – and not telling anybody, no letters through the post. It’s mind blowing how they think they can get away with it.”

Local representative, Councillor Dave Evans explained that the plans had now been dropped, and any future proposals would be discussed with locals first.

He said: “This morning I as informed by the council they would be leaving the trees in situ due to the response of local residents, and I’m really pleased to see this outcome. They have completely dropped the plans to do anything with them at this time and any future plans will be consulted on.”

He added that he sympathised with residents’ concerns about the lamppost which is obstruction the pavement. He said: “They can’t be removing trees when they have a great big lamppost in the pavement.”

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been approached for a formal response.

References

^{^} Milton, (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^{^} Stoke-on-Trent City Council (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^{^} Milton care home that ‘placed people at risk of harm’ told to improve (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^{^} Callous owner left guard dog to starve to death in freezing yard (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
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