Residents remain doubtful after council leader promises to save iconic row of trees

Martin Shipton

Cardiff council’s leader has promised environmental campaigners that remedial action will be taken to save an iconic row of copper beech trees if they show signs of deterioration following mistakes made during the construction of a cycleway.

The trees, planted in Roath Recreation Ground in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of the late Queen Elizabeth II, are very vulnerable to the adverse effects of soil compaction, and breaches of duty during construction meant that the contractors drove their machinery over the soil repeatedly, as well as dumping building materials at the base of the trees.

This has led neighbouring residents to fear that unless remedial action is taken soon, the trees could reach a state in which they are beyond saving.

In response to a question from local resident Lucy Griffiths, council leader Cllr Huw Thomas said: “I would like to assure you that any general issues highlighted over the course of the construction period were reviewed based on the available evidence and addressed properly at the time.

“I can confirm that the council has already undertaken measures and has appointed an independent arboricultural consultant to review all relevant project documentation and available arboricultural assessments, and to carry out a full technical assessment of the trees in question.

“It is anticipated that the council will be in receipt of the technical report after the Easter holidays, which will then be carefully considered.

“The council will continue to monitor the trees over the next couple of years to check for any deterioration in the roots and will take remedial action if required.”

Ms Griffiths told Nation.Cymru: “Huw Thomas has built his reputation on environmental reform but sadly this appears to be unravelling with a series of botched Planning directives leading to the destruction of some of Cardiff’s most protected trees.

“Our urgent attempts to help him get the contractors to reverse the damage they caused, were so rudely dismissed that it makes you wonder if he really cares about these issues – or council budgets for that matter.

“We helped the council stop works during the scheme due to contractor malpractice so there is a duty to deal with the consequences of that. We’re relieved that some basic steps to assess the crisis were already in place, but why not just communicate that properly and alleviate our worry?

“It’s brought the situation to breaking point and belies the fact that for nine critical months the Council Leader has sat on the evidence and – given that he ignored my question – has not seen fit to even ask Knights Brown [the developers] to sort it out.

“Instead, he argued that our expert recommendation to inject the roots with nutrients and oxygen before their stored energy expires is somehow ‘invasive’ – his officers did not seem to think so when we discussed it last year. And he seems to be wasting yet more time quibbling about whether the trees fall under Highways or Parks because the avenue delineates the boundary – what does it matter?

“The trees don’t know who they belong to, they just know that they are suffocating! Ultimately, they belong to us and we know what the builders did because we have the pictures to prove it. They have a good record of corporate responsibility so I’m sure they would want to do the right thing *

“But the time is now. The council needs to get a grip of the facts fast, so I have given the Leader until after Easter on April 7 to sort this out and then we will sort it out ourselves – again! Their stonewalling means we only have six months to raise up to £50k to pay for this vital treatment – we will not lose these trees.

‘Priceless’

She added: “They need to understand what this place means to the people of Cardiff. The trees may well be worth a fortune but the value the Rec has in people’s hearts is priceless. It’s a monument to working class sporting culture due to its singular history as the home of Welsh (British) baseball for almost 150 years – it’s rare to have a conservation area quite like this.

“Disregarding people’s social history on the scale that we have seen throughout this scheme is very risky for the council. It is more important than ever for people to feel connected and engaged with their communities and we are committed to keeping our environment and heritage alive for future generations.”