Anger over plans to fell trees in Waverton

Jan 13 2011 by David Norbury, Chester Chronicle

NEIGHBOURS objected when an application was made to fell trees in a village conservation area.

Roger and Janet Wilson of The Old Rectory, Village Road, Waverton raised concerns at the proposal by the Diocese of Chester to fell mature trees at The Rectory next door.

“All the trees in question, along with trees in our own garden, form part of an area of largely deciduous native woodland interspersed with Scots Pines planted in all probability at the time The Old Rectory was built in 1882," they told tree officers at Cheshire West and Chester Council.

They described the application as ‘very unspecific’ and argued it sought ‘carte blanche’ authority to fell a large number of the long established trees whenever the diocese chose.

“If conservation area means anything their removal must surely be unacceptable," they commented.

The neighbours also pointed out the trees provided privacy screening between The Old Rectory and a number of neighbouring houses and their removal would be detrimental to all.

They accepted any dangerous trees should be dealt with but believed the removal of any others would harm the environment.

The application involved work to two pine trees and a Cypress and felling four Sycamores together with ‘all or selected trees from groups of ash and sycamore’.

But tree officers said they had no objections and did not feel a tree preservation order should be served.

Although they believed the trees offered “some amenity" to the locality although none had any significant individual merit.

Tree officers said they had drawn the neighbour's concerns to the attention of the diocese.