Council accused of felling trees just to make festival plans easier

A council which plans to cut down 22 trees in a London park is doing so to make hosting events easier, critics have claimed.

Lambeth Council says the trees in Brockwell Park in south London are dead or dying and need to be chopped down to reduce the risk of them falling on people.

Another 22 trees in the park, which have been found to have a stable trunk, will have work done to them to make them safe but remain as wildlife habitats.

Any trees with nesting birds will be fenced off and the work will be postponed until autumn, when the nesting season ends.

The park is home to the Lambeth Country Show as well as music festivals including Wide Awake and Mighty Hoopla.

Residents who object to the plan have launched a petition, saying the fellings are “timed to make the ticketed summer events easier”.

In an open letter, the plan’s detractors said they first heard of the proposals last week and their response is “one of shock”.

The letter reads: “No formal consultation has taken place, no proper notice given, and as far as we are aware no full survey of these trees carried out - this was not on anyone’s radar.

“This rapid decision-making process, particularly during the nesting season, is alarming and requires re-evaluation.”

They said some of the living trees have few “obvious” defects while others with more serious problems can be managed with remedial work.

There are some trees which “need to be removed for safety”, they conceded.

The letter goes on to say: “It is not legal to fell trees which are being used for nesting.

“Although this might be mitigated by the necessity of unavaoidable public safety considerations, we do not believe that these have been adequately justified, nor that alternatives such as fenced exclusion zones have been considered.”

Critics have called for a moratorium on works until the decision is called in and fully justified.

This justification must explain what other options have been considered.