Council slammed for chopping down tree

Richard Evans Local Democracy Reporter

A councillor says she’s been left “stunned” after a council team chopped down a “perfectly healthy tree” damaged during Storm Amy.

Cllr Louise Emery was attending a Llandudno Town Council meeting at the Town Hall on Friday, October 3 when she noticed a tree base disturbed by the high winds outside the Emmanuel Chapel on Lloyd Street.

The Gogarth Mostyn councillor then reported the matter to Conwy County Council in the hope the tree’s base could be safely repaired.

The tree was planted as part of the grant-funded Urban Tree Planting Project in 2022, a Welsh Government environmental scheme.

The project strived to improve the town’s carbon footprint and help line the Victorian resort’s streets with trees.

But Cllr Emery said she was left “stunned” as council workers turned up promptly and cut the tree down.

“Absolutely stunned”

The council said the tree and surrounding structure had been damaged during the storm, and cutting down the tree was “the safest way to protect the public and property in the area”.

They said said they would plant a replacement tree.

Speaking about the incident, Cllr Emery said: “On the way to the town council meeting, I saw the base of this tree, which had a special base built into the pavement, was lifting in the strong wind.

“So I thought that is not great. I’ll report it to out-of-hours ERF (the council’s environment department). I went to my council meeting, but when I came out, I walked past the tree and it had gone.

“There was no tree. They had cut the tree off at the base, and there was just a stump left.

“I was hoping they would fix the base or put some weight on it and then come back in the next few days in order to save the tree. I was absolutely stunned to see that a Conwy operative had come out and cut the tree down.

“I am in disbelief that this was the best solution. The cost of replacing the tree is going to be much greater than just fixing one of the locks on the base.

“Surely the best action would have been to temporarily secure the tree. Instead they chopped down a perfectly healthy tree.”

Disbelief

She added: “The reactions I’ve had so far are just disbelief that this is what they did. We’ve really enjoyed having the trees back in Llandudno.

“It was an expensive project because you have these special bases in to make sure the tree roots didn’t damage the pavement, so to just make that decision and get rid of the tree, I think, is not right.”

A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council said: “We received an out-of-hours report about a damaged tree on Lloyd Street, Llandudno, and went to inspect the area.

“The tree and surrounding structure had been damaged during Storm Amy, and the concrete slab had been lifted. We removed the tree as the safest way to protect the public and property in the area. We will plant a new tree in the same location.”