Northampton council accused of putting tenants' lives at risk after huge tree crashes into elderly woman's garden

Northampton Borough Council has been accused of putting its tenants' lives at risk after a tall tree crashed into an elderly woman's garden following years of warnings.

The 50-60ft tree in Delapre fell minutes after Iris Pursglove and her seven-year-old great-granddaughter had gone inside during the high winds of Storm Francis on Tuesday (August 25).

Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH) has promised to remove the tree from Hereward Road and make any necessary repairs but insists it is tenants' responsibility to maintain them.

The 81-year-old resident has been left shaken-up after the close shave, the neighbour where the trees are rooted is worried about the liability and everyone is concerned about it happening again.

Iris' daughter, Jane Walker, told the Chron: "The trees are an issue but lives are at stack here - how much does the council value a life for the cost of bringing a tree down? It's mind boggling."

Iris has been living in fear of the collection of eight large trees coming down for years while large branches have been snapping off regularly, most recently into a neighbour's garden in March.

The council tenant has complained to NPH many times but was always told it was down to her to pay for them to be maintained, despite it costing hundreds of pounds and that not being the case for private renters.

Then on Tuesday afternoon, her nightmare came true just ten minutes after she had gone out to the bird feeder with her great-granddaughter Isabella Krywus.

Jane said: "I thought she was going to have a heart attack as she kept touching her chest."

The trunk snapped close to base, meaning most of the 60ft of branches and leaves destroyed part of a fence, took over the whole garden and damaged a neighbour's roof.

Iris and her neighbour, Roger Tansley, cannot use their gardens for the time being while the full extent of the damage is yet to be revealed.

"Fortunately no one was in the garden but it's frightening. I was dreading it all night and if another comes down then God knows what will happen," he said.

The trees are actually based in Linda Murby's garden on Blenheim Road - the fellow council tenant has also been warning NPH of the danger for all eight years she has been there to no avail.

As it is in the tenancy agreement for tenants to maintain trees, the 36-year-old mother-of-two is now concerned she may have to pay for the damage.

"It's very expensive to maintain such large trees but I'm a single parent with no job, how can I be expected to maintain seven huge trees?

"The council needs to do something about it and I don't think it's fair for tenants to come in to properties the way they are and be expected to maintain them."

This is far from the first incident - one morning in March, a large branch fell of another tree into Joanna Nowakowska's garden next door to Linda.

It was left to the 35-year-old's husband Michal to clear it up because it was on private property and during the coronavirus lockdown.

"if my kids were in the garden that day, it would have killed them. Thank God they had not decided to play outside at the time," she said.

Tenants have also been complaining to Delapre and Briar Hill councillor Julie Davenport about the trees ever since she was elected.

Her requests to the council for the trees to be chopped down or for tenants not to be responsible have yielded no change, leaving her very frustrated now everyone's fears have come true.

"It's wrong that you can get a council house, which is like winning the lottery because there are so many people on the waiting list so you're not going to say no, but then you have to take on this responsibility," she said.

"We would like the council to change the contracts to take out the responsibility for tenants to maintain trees, which can costs £1,000 sometimes, because while it's in there we're going to keep having this problem."

Nicky McKenzie, assistant director for housing at NPH, said yesterday: “We have visited those affected by the fallen tree today to check any damage and make sure their homes are safe and secure.

"We are now making arrangements to remove the tree as soon as possible.

"Once the tree has been removed, we will assess any damage to the area and make necessary repairs.

"We have previously engaged an arboriculturist to check the tree for signs of diseases or structural issues, and did not identify any problems.

"This issue appears to have been caused by 'Storm Francis' yesterday.

"We have also spoken to the resident regarding this issue previously, and confirmed that tenants are responsible for the maintenance of trees in their gardens. This is outlined in their tenancy agreement.

"However, we would always encourage any tenants to contact us for advice and support if they have concerns about any trees in their gardens.”