Felling in West Hill.

On a Saturday in mid January I received a phone call from a concerned resident to alert me to tree felling on Ash Hill Road, off Higher Broad Oak Road, West Hill. Ash Hill is one of my favourite parts of West Hill and the trees are what make it so special.

On arrival, it was apparent that one of the roadside trees – a birch – had already been felled and there was clearly further roadside felling intended. A large beech and oak tree were at risk – adjacent to the birch. The felling of these further trees would make the gaping hole caused by the felling of the birch even bigger. My concerns were heightened by the fact that this work was being done on a Saturday – which in my experience is an unusual day to be felling trees.

The trees in question have been standing for many decades and are part of a roadside grouping which contribute hugely to the visual amenity of our village.

Of course routine maintenance is needed with trees, but West Hill has a history of pre-emptive felling where developers fell trees because in some instances they are seen as an impediment to development ie to provide access onto a site.

Although this site had been optioned by the landowner to a housebuilder several years ago, in 2020 it was optioned to a different housebuilder. I saw no evidence to suggest that the felling was being carried out for arboricultural reasons as opposed to facilitating housing development.

Given the contribution that these trees make to the amenity, it was important to me to be proactive in doing what I could do to protect the trees which had not yet been felled. I stood on the verge directly under the trees which were at risk to prevent them being felled and when the police were called and I had to leave, my car remained parked under the trees.

EDDC officers attended the site and served a tree preservation order at my request. This means that the trees now have legal protection and it is a criminal offence for anyone to cut, damage or destroy them without the consent of the council.

Since January there has been felling on a number of different sites in West Hill. As soon as residents raise concerns with me I will attend the site to investigate. Sadly sometimes it is simply too late by the time I get there. The felling in January has definitely had a galvanising affect on our community with the Parish Council now urgently exploring how it can do more by working with residents and EDDC to protect and enhance our treescape. There is no doubt that some of the answers lie in serving TPOs, but I do not believe that this is the only answer. Developing a better appreciation of trees and all that they give us, particularly in the face of the climate and ecological emergency is also very important.