Anger as 'beautiful' trees to be axed for Coventry cycle lane

[dutchman]

Hundreds of people are calling for the trees to be saved



"Beautiful" trees on a street in Coventry are set to be chopped down by the council to make way for the last stretch of the Binley cycleway. The 26 mature trees on Clifford Bridge Road have stood there for "decades", locals say.

Coventry council said the trees would be replaced by 32 new ones and the cycleway would help promote sustainable travel. But the move has been hit with a backlash and since Friday 16 August, more than 400 people have signed an online petition calling for the plan to be stopped.

Petition organiser Will Delieu described the trees as "beautiful." He wrote: "These trees have stood for decades, providing shade, cleaner air, and natural beauty to our community.

"Removing them would not only destroy the green character of our neighborhood but also cause irreversible damage to the local environment. The proposed cycle lane may seem like a step forward for sustainable transport, but it comes at too high a cost.

"The loss of these trees would have long-lasting negative effects on our ecosystem, local wildlife, and the well-being of residents. We believe there are better alternatives that would not require sacrificing our precious natural heritage."

The appeal on change.org calls for the council to stop the project "immediately" and look at other routes that protect the trees. Some supporters claim the cycle lane is not wanted and would not be used, while others call for a shared footway/cycleway or for it to be built on nearby land.

Local resident Dawn McCann told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) residents were "shocked" at the number of trees to be felled. She said they have decided to make people on the road aware by tying yellow ribbons around the trees at risk.

A social media campaign to save the trees has had "massive support," she added. "The tree consultation ends on 12 th September and we hope there is enough objection to losing 26 trees to make the council rethink," she said.

A Coventry council consultation on the tree felling is open until 12 September. The 'reason for felling' states: "To enable the installation of the new cycle lane in Clifford Bridge Road, all trees with notices (26) will be removed.

"The new design allows for 30 new trees that will be planted at extra heavy standard / semi mature size as part of this project." Comments can be made online at: https://www.coventry.gov.uk/directory-r ... cycle-lane.

Responding to an enquiry by the LDRS, a council spokesperson said: "If these plans are approved at the City Services Cabinet Meeting at the end of October, we would remove 26 trees as part of the work.

"It’s important to note however that they would be replaced by 32 new trees as well as a range of low growing plants. Those trees would be planted with a special root protection system which would help them to thrive.

"This section of the cycleway is the final step in joining up the city centre, Binley and the University Hospital. When complete that cycleway will play a key role in promoting sustainable travel in our city."

[dutchman]

Record bid to save trees being axed for cycleway



A group of residents are planning a record tree hug as part of a bid to save 26 trees from being cut down to make way for a new cycleway.

Campaigners are attempting to break the mass tree hugging record by forming a human chain of more than 700 people along Clifford Bridge Road, Coventry, on Saturday.

Under plans, external from the council, trees on the road will be removed to make way for the last stretch of the Binley cycleway, linking the city centre with the hospital.

Coventry City Council said the trees would be replaced with new ones which would provide "greater long-term benefits".

However, residents want the plans to be redesigned or a "less destructive" route to be found, with more than 4,000 people signing a petition calling for the council to save the threatened trees which they say provide habitats for wildlife.

Campaigner Dawn McCann told BBC CWR the trees had been on the road for "decades".

"They stop pollution, they give out oxygen, they take up gallons of water because as you go down the road towards the river, the houses at the bottom, the gardens flood," she explained.

"Once you take these trees out and put saplings in, it's going to 30-40 years before they're able to absorb the quantity of water that these trees absorb."

Ms McCann said residents also had safety concerns about the new cycleway, as they could be reversing out of their driveways on to the busy main road.

"The concern of the residents is they don't want to knock a cyclist off a bike and kill them," she said.

The group needs 703 people to beat the record for the largest number of people involved in a tree hug, which was previously set in Cheshire.

[rebbonk]

Hundreds turn out to save 26 trees from axe

More than 900 people formed a chain in a bid to save 26 trees from being cut down to make way for a cycleway in Coventry.

Campaigners were hoping to break a UK record for the largest group tree hug set in Cheshire. They needed 703 people but 925 joined the chain.

Organisers told BBC CWR they were "absolutely stunned" by the turnout and had wanted to create a visible demonstration of how they felt about the "beautiful" trees.

The trees on Clifford Bridge Road will be removed to make way for a cycleway. The city council said they would be replaced by 32 saplings which would provide "greater long-term benefits".

However, residents want the plans to be redesigned or a "less destructive" route found.

More than 4,200 people have signed a council e-petition calling for it to save the trees which they say provide habitats for wildlife.

Dawn McCann, who helped organise the tree hug, said the numbers who attended broke a UK record listed in the Alternative Book of Records. Those who attended had been given tickets to verify the numbers, she said.

Pru Porretta, who has acted as the city's official Lady Godiva for more than 40 years was there as an adjudicator of the record with Hits Radio presenter John Dalziel.

"Lady Godiva from 1,000 years ago walked in the Forest of Arden and all of Coventry would have been covered in these beautiful trees," she told BBC Radio CWR.

"How gorgeous to see trees still here as I walk."

Among protesters, was also 11-year-old Reuben, who wrote to Sir David Attenborough and the King about his concerns over the trees.

Coventry City Council said: "The trees advertised for removal on Clifford Bridge Road are primarily in average condition with limited usable lifespan, and some are Ash trees affected by Ash dieback.

"Trees are an important part of moving towards net zero [carbon], and we will plant more trees than we remove."

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0lpjyexpezo

[rebbonk]

Council to fell 26 trees as cycleway approved

Coventry City Council has approved the removal of 26 trees to make way for the final section of a long-delayed cycling route.

The decision to complete the 6km (3.7-mile) Binley Cycleway was made by a senior councillor at a meeting on Monday.

The £12m route will connect the city centre with University Hospital Coventry and most of it has already been built.

But one part of the route on Clifford Bridge Road has been delayed for years after stiff opposition from residents.

The section has been redesigned multiple times after residents raised concerns about safety, protecting trees on the road and car parking.

The revised plan was signed off by Councillor Patricia Hetherton, the cabinet member for city services, who said the authority had listened to residents and made changes based on their feedback.

"I'm saddened we're losing those trees. If we reduced the width of the highway, we could have saved more trees," she told BBC CWR.

"But clearly the residents didn't want that, and as a consequence we're having to lose more trees."

The council said the trees would be replaced by 32 saplings which would provide "greater long-term benefits".

Residents at the meeting shouted "shocking" and "shame on you" when the decision was announced.

A petition to save the trees gathered more than 4,000 signatures, and hundreds of campaigners turned out for a tree hug last month.

The campaign attracted celebrity support too, with Sir David Attenborough sharing tips on how to save the trees in a letter to an 11-year-old resident.

Martina Irwin, who campaigned to save the trees, spoke at the meeting and said there was "nothing wrong with any of them".

She said councils across the country had "failed to acknowledge the strength of feeling from residents about trees in their communities" and warned the same could happen in Coventry.

When asked what Sir David would think of her decision, Ms Hetherton said: "I think Sir David would be thrilled to bits that we're doing a cycle path that gets people out of cars and on to cycles."

She added: "The devil is always in the detail and when you give people a headline, they can respond accordingly. But when you actually show them what you're trying to do, it has a different impact."

Dawn McCann, who helped organise the tree hug, argued the cycleway was not safe.

She said there was a risk of collisions between cyclists and cars pulling out from driveways on Clifford Bridge Road.

The council said it considered alternative routes but argued there was no evidence to suggest the cycleway would pose an increased risk to safety.

A council report said collisions resulting in injury had reduced across the previously completed sections of the cycleway.

The cycleway is part of the council's plan to boost low levels of cycling, and encourage greener, more active travel choices in Coventry.

The council expects about 200 cyclists a day to use the Clifton Bridge Road section of the route once it has been built.

Work on the final section of the Binley Cycleway is due to begin next year and be completed in 2026.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp83ll28w01o

[dutchman]

Controversial Coventry cycleway will go ahead after councillor vote



Councillors have narrowly backed building a controversial Coventry cycleway. They met yesterday, 21 January, to probe a senior councillor's decision to approve the two-way lane on Clifford Bridge Road last month.

The meeting was held after members of both political groups on the council demanded more scrutiny of the ruling on the cycle lane, a process known as "calling in." More than a dozen people were in the public gallery to watch.

The route is the final stretch of the Binley cycleway linking the city centre with University Hospital. It was signed off by Cabinet Member Patricia Hetherton ( Radford, Lab) at a meeting last month following three redesigns over several years.

But the move to agree the cycleway came after people living in the residential area raised a raft of safety concerns. Thousands had also called for the council to save 26 trees on the road set to be axed to make way for the development.

The nine members of the council's scrutiny co-ordination committee heard yesterday from three opposition Conservative councillors and the three Labour councillors for the area. Both groups were critical of the reports for December's meeting and raised wider concerns about the scheme.

Council officers countered their points and stressed the scheme will undergo another safety review by an outside company, adding the trees are only being axed as a last resort. There was then nearly three hours of questioning and comments by members of the committee, before a vote.

Five councillors, all from the ruling Labour group, accepted the original decision of Cllr Hetherton - meaning it becomes effective immediately. Four councillors, two Labour and two Conservative, voted against.

Meeting chair Cllr Gavin Lloyd backed the decision but stressed he did not want the process to happen again. He told the meeting: "Before you disappear and officers - obviously we are scrutiny, we don't want to be having another call-back along these lines.

"So if, and it is a plea from myself, all the way through, every chance, every opportunity you get to keep general public involved, listen, learn, act, - please do. And I think that's a plea from all of us on the committee."

[dutchman]

Campaigners take cycle route battle to High Court



Campaigners will take their battle to stop 26 trees from being cut down for a cycle route to the High Court this week.

Coventry City Council approved the final section of the 6km (3.7-mile) Binley Cycleway in December, but residents have opposed a planned stretch on Clifford Bridge Road for years.

The campaigners have now worked with a law firm to apply for an injunction against the work and they have a hearing in London on Thursday, they said in a statement.

The council said it could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

Residents who oppose the route on Clifford Bridge Road have raised concerns about protecting trees, safety for cyclists and drivers, and parking.

"We were forced into trying to take legal action against the council because they wouldn't listen," Dawn McCann, one of the campaigners, told BBC Radio CWR.

Ms McCann added that the planned cycle route was "unsafe" and residents had been campaigning against it since 2020.

The campaigners' statement said their case had been "officially accepted and sealed by the court", with a hearing scheduled for Thursday.

It added that tree-felling had been paused last week and Thursday's hearing "could lead to a full judicial review" if they were successful.

Martina Irwin, one of the campaigners, told BBC Radio CWR that "the sheer number of people" who had opposed the plans showed residents' strong feelings on the issue.

[dutchman]

Campaigners lose High Court fight against cycleway

Campaigners in Coventry have lost a High Court bid to prevent a new cycleway being built, including the felling of 26 trees.

"It is plain the scheme has been the subject of discussion over both an extended period of time and with some intensity," High Court deputy judge Richard Kimblin said.

He added that the council had taken steps to minimise the impact of the cycleway by narrowing and realigning it, where possible.

Objectors had tried to claim there were errors made during the council's decision-making process which made plans for the scheme unlawful.

Five legal arguments were submitted on behalf of those opposed to it, all of which were rejected by the court.

Those against the scheme tried to argue there were failings during the consultation phase, as well as insufficient information provided to council decision-makers when they were weighing up the scheme.

"In my judgement, the decision taken is one which was plainly open to the decision-makers to make, and was plainly one which took account of all the material considerations – including, and expressly, the decision to remove the trees," Mr Kimblin said.

"The overarching decision is not one which can be reasonably said to be irrational."

The judge added: "I have no doubt at all that the decision-makers were fully aware of the amenity value of the trees being familiar – as they will have been – with their local area and the long period of consultation and controversy which this scheme attracted."

He said no material considerations had been omitted during the process, and that assessments of the trees' health had been made by appropriate experts.

While he agreed that some of the council's legal costs would be borne by those who had brought the legal challenge against the council, these would only cover "acknowledgement of service" fees and not the "costs of today".

A statement issued by solicitors representing those opposed to the scheme said they were disappointed by the judge's ruling.

"We are frustrated that after all the requests for information about the safety of the scheme and the trees by Coventry residents, it was only once we issued court proceedings that the council disclosed to us that it has in fact undertaken an independent safety audit," they said.

They added that the audit had raised numerous safety concerns that were not identified in the council's internal audit.

[dutchman]

Cycleway tree-fellers held back by campaigners



Campaigners objecting to the cutting down of 26 trees to create a new cycleway have prevented fellers from starting work.

The campaigners wrapped themselves around selected trees on Clifford Bridge Road in Binley, leading to police being called.

Local residents had fought a long and fierce campaign to save the trees, including writing a letter to David Attenborough and taking Coventry City Council to the High Court.

While their plight was unsuccessful, they managed to stop any trees from being felled on Thursday, with workmen and police officers leaving by noon.

A spokesman for the West Midlands force said officers were called to the protest about 10:15 GMT but "there was no requirement for police to take any action".

Local resident Martina Irwin told the BBC the group was particularly concerned with "the two most threatened trees", including a silver birch about 50ft (15.2m) tall that was "a number of years old".

She said the campaigners did not want to cause any aggravation.

"We're having a little tree party here so we've got cakes and hot drinks and we've been wrapped around the trees," she said. "We've got some music on, done a bit of dancing."

She said police officers had warned them to leave the area, but "we're not going to do that willingly too quickly."

Martina said she believed too many trees were being felled in Coventry.

"We have 11% canopy cover in our city, way below the West Midlands average, and yet our city council is determined to wipe out all of these oxygen-giving trees," she said.