The felling of two beautiful copper beech trees.
In early 2003, a failed planning application was made to erect a massive three storey block of extra care apartments in the southern part of Connaught Court grounds adjoining Fulford Park.
This would have meant the loss of several mature trees and the City of York Council decided to place preservation orders (TPO) on the majority of the trees in the grounds : “to ensure that canopy cover is maintained and thus the intrinsic character and visual amenity of the locality is maintained”. The council believed that further planning applications on this site would be forthcoming.
The RMBI subsequently asked for permission to fell two 150 year old copper beech trees which they believed to be in a state of decline. The council obtained a report on the trees which concluded that they were “in a sound and healthy condition with no signs of any major structural problems or the presence of significant decay” and that they had “a safe useful life expectancy in excess of fifty years”.
“The RMBI were not satisfied with this and their planning consultant commisioned a further report”.
The RMBI were not satisfied with this and their planning consultant commisioned a further report which suggested that the trees were “susceptable to fungal and biotic attack”” and that “branch failure is predictable”. On the basis of this report (which could in no way be considered independant), the council gave permission for both trees to be felled.
Local residents were given an opportunity to comment on the felling request before it was granted but the council’s own independant report was for some reason, removed from the file and therefore residents did not know of its existence until after permission was given.
When residents realised that the trees were in fact healthy, they organised protests in order to try and save them. The council could not rescind the orders, so attempts were made to persuade the RMBI to look again at the state of the trees with a view to trying alternative methods of dealing them.
The RMBI however seemed determined to get rid of them and all pleas were ignored. The MP for Selby (Mr John Grogan) tried desperately to halt the chainsaws but all to no avail and on September 28th 2004, the first of the trees was felled after protesters were removed by the police. The second tree was felled on October 5th 2004.
There is now a complaint pending as residents believe that permission for felling should not have been given by a council officer under delegated powers – instead we believe it should have been decided by a planning committee ( especially in view of the fact that the RMBI’s own planning consultant had until last year been employed in the planning dept. of the council)
Less than one month after permission was granted, the current outline planning application was presented – and of course the indicative plan now shows a massive block of flats, a new road and car-parks in exactly the space previously occupied by the copper beech trees! Yet we are told that the tree felling had nothing at all to do with a planning application!!!
As a postscript to this story, the contractor who felled the first tree has now admitted to more than one person, that there was nothing wrong with the tree.