Town outcry over fears tree could face the chop
FEARS that a much-loved tree in a Derbyshire town could face the chop have sparked a reaction from people who want it protected.
People in Wirksworth were upset after hearing a tree which has been in the town’s market place for nearly 40 years could be taken away.
It comes after the roots from the tree, which was planted in the 1980s, began to damage the paving and steps surrounding it.
However, Derbyshire Dales District Council insists there are no plans to fell the tree and has committed to find ways of repairing pavement without doing so.
Barry Joyce, a committee member of Wirksworth Civic Society, said people had been upset to hear the tree might come down. “It’s a very noticeable element of the street scene,” he said. “It’s the only tree in the market place. It’s beautiful – in the summer it has a lovely canopy.
“There are community events that take place in the market place and it’s a great place for people to sit during these, not just on the bench, but on the steps as well.”
He said the tree had been installed as part of a regeneration project in the town in the 1980s. “It was very nicely designed by the district council’s landscape architect,” he said.
“A plane tree was chosen as it would grow to the size it has grown to. Unfortunately
the roots have grown too, to such an extent that they’re displacing some of the steps and paving.”
But he said people living in the town were against removing the tree to allow repair work to go ahead.
“The council said they were going to remove the tree and replace it with a smaller one,” he said.
“Once the civic society discovered this, we were upset and concerned. We put a post on Facebook and it reached more people than the number of those who actually live in the town.”
But a spokesperson for Derbyshire Dales District Council said it did not intend to chop the tree down. “We can reassure residents that there are no plans to fell the tree in question,” he said. “What we are trying to do right now is determine how our stonemason can reinstate the damaged steps on which the tree stands.
“We did receive specialist advice that this would be difficult to achieve without losing the tree.
“However, given the local importance of the tree, we are committed to exploring a different way of reconfiguring the hard landscaping to ensure the tree’s long term retention.
“Given existing high workloads and ongoing projects, this may take some time, but we can promise local people that nothing will happen to the tree in the meantime.”
Mr Joyce said the civic society had been “very pleased” to hear council say it did not intend to remove it.