£2,000 donated to help save trees

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save more than 30 trees from being felled in a popular Cardiff park have raised more than £2,000 to support their fight.

The group plans to hire experts to oppose the work being done in Roath Mill and Roath Brook Gardens by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) as part of a flood prevention scheme.

The Roath Brook Trees Campaign Group raised the funds through a crowdfunding page and say they have held initial investigations with an independent hydrologist which suggest they can put together a strong challenge to the tree felling.

NRW has paused the felling of the 33 trees for four months to give campaigners the chance to put forward new evidence before making a decision on how to progress with the scheme.

Campaigners say the scheme will “rip the heart out of our beautiful and unique park and have a damaging, and lasting, effect on the wildlife in the area.” Penylan resident Sarah Jones, 41, said: “We need a hydrologist to look at the model and what the alternatives are to NRW.

“We think there’s a lot more that can be done sensitively.

“The area is so unique for a city centre. It’s so beautiful and tranquil. Trees produce a lot of health benefits.”

Before the pause in works, NRW said the tree felling and the widening of the brook would protect 60 homes from a greater flood risk.

Fewer than 30 of the homes are at risk of a flood between once every 30 years and once every 50 years, according to figures from NRW obtained by the campaign group.

More than half the homes affected by the Roath Brook scheme would be at risk of a flood between once every 50 and 75 years, the figures say.

Phases one and two of the flood alleviation project, which will reduce the flood risk to 300 homes, are unaffected by the pause and construction continues throughout Railway Gardens and Waterloo Gardens, as well as at Waterloo Road bridge, which will re-open in April. In January, protesters climbed the trees in Roath Brook and forced works to be put on hold.

Last December, they also met with Cardiff council to air their concerns.

NRW has previously said 149 trees across the four gardens would be removed and 120 trees would be replanted while 200 saplings would be planted in Roath recreational ground.

A spokesman for Natural Resources Wales said: “We have agreed to pause tree felling and construction in Roath Brook Gardens and Roath Mill Gardens for four months after listening to the views of the community and the concerns of the Roath Brook Trees campaign group.

“We have committed to consider any new evidence prior to making a decision on how to progress.

“We remain confident in our assessment of the flood risk to the Penylan and Roath communities and we are committed to better protecting those exposed, including the 60 properties affected by Phase three.”