Who will protect leafy streets?

Published: 3 February, 2011

• RESIDENTS are rightly concerned about whether Islington Council’s new tree policy will really protect our trees. 

From 2006 to 2010, Green councillor Katie Dawson had to fight to protect trees all over the borough. Katie fought alongside residents to prevent the felling of the beautiful avenue of ash trees in Drayton Park, Highbury. Sadly, the council went ahead and felled them because of supposed health and safety concerns about falling twigs and branches.

In 2007, the council threatened to remove three mature horse chestnut trees at Finsbury Leisure Centre. After a campaign by Cllr Dawson and footballers at the centre, the  council agreed to x-ray the trees, which were found to be in good health and were saved.

Later that year, the council allowed a developer to remove six mature London plane trees at 200 Pentonville Road. 

A whole street of beautiful trees at St John’s Villas was threatened with felling by the council because of health and safety concerns about “killer pears”. The council only backed down after Katie and residents mounted a media campaign.

Subsequently, the 2009 tree policy again put the London plane trees at the Fields under threat on the basis of a “lack of species diversity”. It is only through the tenacity of residents that these trees have, so far, been saved.

Islington lost more trees between 2002 and 2007 than any other inner-city borough in London – 1,519 in total.  Now there is a chance for the council to do something about it. 

Earlier this month, Mayor of London Boris Johnson launched RE:LEAF London, a campaign to plant an extra two million trees by 2025 in specified priority planting areas, including one here in Islington at Caledonian Road and King’s Cross. A grant of up to £100,000, for the planting of up to 400 trees, is available to the council. This year is the last year of grants for these street trees. We urge the council to make the most of the scheme – and to start protecting our existing trees properly.

EMMA DIXON
Islington Green Party

• ISLINGTON’S ruling Labour councillors have announced a new trees policy. Sadly, this new policy is a total letdown.

It is a watered-down version of the 2009 policy that fails to protect Islington’s trees.  A lot of detailed work went into the original consultation. Nothing then happened despite frequent reminders.  

We have now received a flimsy two pages of badly-written gobbledygook. 

The new policy fails to promote planting additional trees. It does not require like-for-like replacement of felled trees. It does not even stop the council cutting down trees without replacement.  That’s why Liberal Democrats have “called in” this decision to try and make the council think again.

CLLR JOHN GILBERT
Lib Dem, Highbury East