“I’d go to jail for it”: Berkhamsted residents anger after tree felling application granted at pub

Residents on Berkhamsted’s Station Road have expressed their anger and disappointment after Dacorum Borough Council (DBC) approved the felling of a poplar tree next to a pub in the town.

An application to chop down the mature tree next to Crystal Palace pub on Station Road was submitted to the council in November by its owner Punch Taverns.

Jane Keenan has been a Station Road resident for over two decades. She said: “It’s a perfectly healthy tree and it's in maybe what would be perceived as an inconvenient position.”

A spokesperson for DBC said: “We sympathise with the concerns of local residents. It is accepted that the tree is visible for some distance and adds to the character of the Berkhamsted conservation area.

“However, its poor siting and the existence of several cavities and a pronounced lean means that we have significant concerns in relation to its safety, stability and longevity.”

The plans had 24 objections on the online portal and a petition was signed by more than 169 local people who want to stop the felling.

Jane continued: “It just seems really unfair that once again, a tree is not deemed to be significant enough for it to have a tree preservation order, therefore it can be felled.”

But the council explained: "Given the professional advice of the Council’s Trees & Woodlands Officer, we concluded, with regret, that no objection could be raised to the felling of this mature Poplar tree as the qualities of the tree did not warrant a tree preservation order.”

In the application, arboricultural consultant, Barrie Draper, said that the tree is, in his view, in poor condition and has outgrown its position. He explained: “This, together with the tree-related damage to the driveway suggests that its removal, along with mechanical stump removal would indeed be appropriate.”

In Mr Draper’s report, it shows how the roots of the tree are beginning to damage the driveway of a property next to the pub. DBC granted the application with the decision noted as ‘raise no objection’.

In response to this, Angela Walsh, another Station Road resident, said: “No objection. Are you kidding? Why would anybody listen to a councillor now from DBC?”

She said: “I'd go to jail for it. Once that tree is gone, it's gone. And it's just criminal. I just don't think our collective voice is being heard at the moment because we're just being permanently overridden.”

Angela added: “It's part of the landscape, but not just to us. We need it to breathe. It cleanses the atmosphere and the air."

The unhappy residents would like to see Punch Taverns pollard the tree – cut off the tallest branches to encourage new growth at the top. Jane said: "The tree has been looked at by tree surgeons it does definitely need pollarding. It has been neglected over the years by the previous tenants of the pub.”

DBC continued: “It should also be noted that the Council did not deny the felling of this tree in the previous application. We would have reached the same view in both applications; however, in the previous application the applicant decided to amend the application and only to proceed with pollarding works”.