Fury as trees axed at ex- children’s hospital
This is the dramatic sight which greeted members of the public last week at the old Seafield Children’s Hospital in Doonfoot Road.
Hundreds of broad leaf trees were chopped down, before being stacked up in piles as high as four metres.
But the sight of these trees lying in crumpled heaps has been met with dismay by several people.
Sandy Raeburn, 56, of Ayr, contacted The Post and said: “I thought this was a protected site but clearly not.
“It used to be that you needed permission to even prune the trees down there but this is a drastic action, cutting all of them down. There’s now a clump of trees three to four metres high and I’m just gobsmacked they’ve all gone.”
And Mrs Ellen Davidson, of Ayr, also said: “I’m absolutely devastated. Every organisation in the world is telling us to plant trees for the planet, help with oxygen, but not cut them down!
“It’s tragic, it really is. It’ll take me time to get over this. Why have they done this?”
In November 2019, The Post told how the historic former mansion would be saved after plans for 37 homes got the goahead – but at a price.
Eyesore Seafield House had lain empty for nearly 30 years.
But developer Robin Ghosh scored planning permission to convert the building into 10 flats with 20 car park spaces.
We also told how 27 four and five bedroom houses, complete with garages, would be built on the grounds. Objectors voiced concerns about hundreds of trees being chopped down to make way for builders.
Mr Ghosh said his firm Econstruct had poured “considerable resources” into making sure the landmark survived for future generations.
South Ayrshire Council’s regulatory panel heard there was a blanket tree preservation order on the site. But Councillors decided saving the endangered bu building took precedence over th the trees.
A Council spokesman said: “In November 2019 Councillors too took the decision to approve the de development at Seafield House wh which will restore the historic lis listed building. The restoration of Seafield House was not viable wi without the addition of 27 de detached properties built within the grounds- and this requires the rem removal of existing trees.”
One silver lining is that the council confirmed that 200 new trees will be planted within the development, with the majority of these planted at over 3.5 metres in height.