House developer responds to upset residents’ concerns about controversial tree felling in Northampton

Housing developer Taylor Wimpey has said that it made the controversial decision to cut down trees in the Overstone area because they are “at risk of falling.”

Residents living in Brittons Drive and Crabb Tree Drive all received a leaflet through their letter boxes on Friday, June 9 notifying them that West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) gave Taylor Wimpey full planning permission to fell dozens of poplar trees to the south of and within their development.

The housing developer said the woodland work was “necessary” to “safeguard” people and adjacent properties to their Overstone Leys development.

Sue Francis, of Brittons Drive, told Chronicle & Echo: “The band of trees act as a windbreak as well as a nose barrier for Brittons Drive and Crabb Tree Drive.

“There has been no consultation with us about how it would affect the area or chance to put forward our objections. You are talking about a huge sway of trees.”

Taylor Wimpey told this newspaper that they carried out an independent survey of the hybrid black poplar trees after concerns were raised about their safety.

This survey found that the trees’ elongated trunks were dependent on each other for stability and they had exceeded their life expectancy so they were at risk of falling.

A spokesperson for the housing developer said: “An arboriculturalist has recommended that these trees be felled as they represent a health and safety risk to the public.

“The poplars will be replaced with over 4,000 new native and naturalised trees and understory plants during the next planting season, to create a species rich woodland.”

The house builder told this newspaper that intermittent removal of the most damaged trees would not be a viable option because the woodland needs to be managed as a whole and this would not stop trees from falling once they have reached the end of their life expectancy.

The spokesperson continued: “This approach was approved by West Northamptonshire County Council in April 2023 and we communicated this to residents in the immediate vicinity of the site.

“We are committed to continued engagement with the local community and write to residents prior to works commencing to provide further details of our plans.”

Taylor Wimpey claimed that local residents had the opportunity to comment on these plans during the statutory planning process.

The house developer assured that they will retain and protect any healthy trees that are not hybrid black poplars and plant a further 250 new trees across the development site.

They additionally plan to install 41 bat and bird boxes, 37 bug hotels, lengths of native hedgerow, native and wildlife-friendly shrubs and wildflower grassland.

The tree felling was expected to commence from Monday, June 26 and take between three to four weeks. All works will be restricted to the hours of 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and mitigation measures will be in place to reduce the amount of dust and noise.