Council under fire for ‘sabotaging' glorious 130-year-old lime trees in scenic Milton Keynes spot

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Residents protested in vain to stop council workers from pollarding a town’s ancient lime trees until they were nothing but stumps.

The 40 towering trees have lined Horsefair Green in Stony Stratford for more than 130 years.

But on Monday morning contractors arrived to cut them back so far that they resemble a “totem pole cemetery”, say angry residents.

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MK City Council insists the work was necessay to ensure the trees remain healthy and safe. They say it was a “standard and usual procedure” that did not require public consultation.

This shows the work in progress in Stony Stratford, where council worker cut mature trees back to the stumpsThis shows the work in progress in Stony Stratford, where council worker cut mature trees back to the stumps
This shows the work in progress in Stony Stratford, where council worker cut mature trees back to the stumps

However, residents in the historic town disagree and have accused the council of sabotage.

: “What they have done is brutal”, said protester Gladys Edwards. “There will be no shade, no branches, no leaves, no flowers, no birds or animals for several years to come.”

Townspeople even consulted experts who said the trees would fare better if they were less drastically pruned.

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Resident Mary Shaw said: “We have sought advice from companies that carry out the type of work you are proposing and have been told that it will be 25% more costly to manage the trees by pruning at high level and removing the weight of the trees in order to preserve the pollarded branches.”

The experts said “careful reduction” of the tree crowns was a much better option for managing the trees and benefitting the environment.””

"MKC have not looked after the Green for over 10 years and they will not be back for another 10 years,” claimed one resident.

The council delayed the pruning for a week to listen to people’s arguments but then went ahead regardless.

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Though the trees on Horsefair Green could not be save, the town is facing another battle this week – saving trees in the Memorial Gardens from similarpollarding.

“Strenuous efforts are now being made to stop such drastic action on the trees in the Memorial Gardens, planned for 31 January,” said Gladys Edwards.

" This is a quiet space of remembrance, with gardens looked after by local residents and crucially a War Memorial which is Grade 2 listed – a site to be treated with respect.”

She added: “All the trees are within the conservation area and formal government guidance says consideration should be given to public consultation - MKC appear to have exempted themselves from this.

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Councillor Shanika Mahendra, who is the Labout Cabinet member for Economy, Sustainability and Innovation, has defended the council’s actions.

She said: "In Milton Keynes we love trees and we want to make sure the trees here are here for a long time - we still want them here in 100 years.

"So, it's about the health of the trees, and also just to ensure they do not become unsafe - this is quite a standard and usual procedure to carry out.”

Cllr Mahendra also explained why there was no public consultation, saying: "I know there is a lot of interest in this, but in the grand scheme of things this is quite minor work and so we wouldn't carry out a consultation.”

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