Playground tree faces axe over fears that ‘falling chestnuts’ could injure children

A PLAYGROUND tree may be cut down by a school over fears that “falling chestnuts” could injure children.

St John’s Primary School in Knaphill, Surrey, said it had been forced to close areas of the recreation space regularly for more than an hour in the autumn “to ensure the health and safety of the children” by sweeping away chestnuts.

Sarah May, the school’s head teacher, also complained about “very slippery” fallen leaves that had caused injury to a member of staff. She added that the school has “a large number of trees on site” but that the sweet chestnut’s positive impact had been outweighed by “the negative impact it has on the learning experiences of the children”.

She said the tree limited the range of activities the school can offer to children and said that pupils could not use bikes and trikes in the area because of its size. Woking Borough Council put in place a tree preservation order (TPO) in October to protect the 100-year-old, 36ft sweet chestnut after learning that the school wished to remove it.

A tree officer said: “The concerns can be resolved by establishing an appropriate cleaning regime. For generations before and for generations after, this tree has and will provide a valuable educational resource.”

Louise Morales, from the council’s planning committee, added: “I’ve googled, I’ve searched, I have not found a single child who has been actually killed by a falling chestnut from a tree – it doesn’t happen.” However, councillors voted down the TPO.

Ms May said: “The plan is to remove the tree, so that we can enhance the nursery provision for our children.”

The sweet chestnut – Castanea sativa – produces catkins in the summer, followed by edible nuts in the autumn.