Date set for decision on future of 200-year-old Northampton tree after council receives 88 letters of objection

A date has been set to decide the future of a 200-year-old tree in Northampton after nearly 90 residents objected to a plan to chop it down.

The distinctive horse chestnut on Billing Road stands inside the grounds of Abington Dental Surgery, and is so large it drapes its branches over the surgery's car park walls and hangs over the pavement. It is even under a tree protection order by the council.

But the dentists' manager, Mr Hiten Patel, has now applied to cut the tree down after a private consultant claimed the tree could pose a danger in the next 10 years.

Since then, 88 people have written to the council to reject the plan and "save" the horse chestnut.

Now, the council's planning committee will decide the fate of the mature horse chestnut tree at a meeting on July 7.

The planning committee's meetings are recorded and streamed live on the Borough Council's YouTube page for the public to watch.In a letter to Mr Patel's private consultant, Matt Large, borough council arboricultural officer Jonathan Hazell said the case had prompted "public interest" and asked for a report on the tree to be heard on July 7.

The debate over the future of the tree flared up after nearby park conservation group Buddies of Beckets called on its supporters to object to the plan.

As a result, the council has received 88 letters of objection in just three weeks.

"To remove such an impressive specimen, which I am sure will outlive me and my peers, would be a detriment," reads one letter. "This tree is irreplaceable."

Another reads: "To cut this ancient tree down is an absolute crime - just for convenience! We need to be planting trees not cutting them down."

A report by assessors MPL Tree Consultants put to the council claims that while both the tree and the wall could theoretically both be saved, the costs would be "extremely high" - recommends removing the tree protection order and cutting the horse chestnut down.