Neighbours write 60 letters of objection over plan to cut down 200-year-old Northampton tree

"The tree cannot be replaced but the wall can."
A debate has flared up over the future of a horse chestnut tree in Northampton town centre.A debate has flared up over the future of a horse chestnut tree in Northampton town centre.
A debate has flared up over the future of a horse chestnut tree in Northampton town centre.

A debate over the future of a 200-year-old Northampton tree has been met with 60 angry letters from concerned neighbours.

Last week, the Chronicle & Echo reported on a plan to cut down a large horse chestnut on Billing Road.

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The distinctive tree 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.

A total of 60 letters of objection have been put to the council over a plan to cut the tree down.A total of 60 letters of objection have been put to the council over a plan to cut the tree down.
A total of 60 letters of objection have been put to the council over a plan to cut the tree down.

But a consultant has claimed the tree could pose a danger in the next 10 years and has already cracked the wall it presses up against. The dentists' manager, Mr Hiten Patel, has now applied to have the mature horse chestnut cut down.

Since then, 60 people have written to the council to object to the plan and is calling on the council to "save" the horse chestnut.

"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."

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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."

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

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".

But this has been met with a cold reception by the tree's supporters.

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"The obvious alternative is to make changes to the wall," one neighbour wrote. "This tree should not be sacrificed for the sake of having to rethink and spend some money on solving the problem."

Another wrote: "This is unjustified and the wall is absolutely repairable without decimating such a historic and magnificent tree."

"This tree has been here for as long as I can remember as a long term resident of the town and someone who walks past this multiple times a week. It is an important and beneficial feature in the area.

"I cannot believe it is even being considered to cut it down."

Abington Dental Practice could not be reached for comment.

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