Spare that tree

SIR – I believe no species in the capital is more worthy of respect than our eponymous London plane (Sacred Mysteries, July 14). No, planes are not native, but they have been here in large numbers for 150 years.

If, as the contributor to the Westminster Abbey Review suggests, we cut them down, not only must we wait a similar time for something to replace them adequately, but we lose all their benefits. As the author of London’s Street Trees, I am strongly aware that a city without large trees would be hotter, more polluted and distinctly less attractive. Paul Wood

London N19