Civil war over plans to chop down ancient King’s Spy Oak
VILLAGERS have described as “ecocide” a plan to chop down an ancient tree associated with the English Civil War to make way for a three-bedroom house.
The 700-year-old oak in Caversham, Berks, was used by Parliamentary Roundhead forces to spy on Charles I’s army during the conflict in April 1643.
The King’s Spy Oak has a tree preservation order, but plans submitted by Chair Homes describe the oak as “diseased” and say “the biodiversity offering of this tree is limited”.
The application says: “Typically, an old tree such as this oak would have relatively significant ecological merit. However, the fact that the tree is in decline must be considered.”
The company pledges to replace it with at least two new trees, one at the front and one at the back of the new home, which its agents say would result in a “100 per cent uplift in trees”.
The plans have met with opposition from residents. One, Emma Bennett, said that a rotting oak tree like this one was “a vital and increasingly rare ecosystem”.
In her objection, posted on Reading council’s planning portal, she said that few such trees were left in Britain and could support up to 1,800 invertebrate species, and that it can take up to 100 years or more for the tree to die.
She added: “One new house cannot be worth the felling of such a rare and important veteran tree.”
Jennifer Leach, a fellow objector, said: “The ancient tree standing on this site is exceptional – historically, ecologically, and in terms of statuesque beauty.
“It would be an act of vandalism if it were to be felled for any reason. To be felled in order to make way for a highly unimaginative private dwelling squeezed into a small garden would be the epitome of greed. Greed was never pretty – in end times such as these, it has become ecocidal.”
Reading Tree Wardens, a local biodiversity group, has objected to the plans, while The Woodland Trust is reported to be planning an objection.
A spokesman said: “Ancient trees are exceptionally valuable as very few trees of any species become ancient. They are irreplaceable – nothing can compensate for their loss which cannot be mitigated by replacement tree planting.”