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Residents upset over pruning of 130-year-old trees

BBC A man in a high-vis jacket sits in a tree with debris and branches at the foot of itBBC
The pruning work was under way at Stony Stratford

A council's decision to pollard more than 40 lime trees that were planted about 130 years ago has come in for criticism.

Contractors working for Milton Keynes City Council arrived in Stony Stratford on Monday morning to cut the top branches off the trees at Horsefair Green.

Mary Shaw, a resident, said: "This is an amenity space where people come and sit and picnic, where festivals are held, where wedding photographs are taken... It's a beautiful place and it is going to be utterly destroyed."

Shanika Mahendran, cabinet member for economy, sustainability and innovation at Milton Keynes City Council, said: "This is quite a standard and usual procedure to carry out."

Local residents told the BBC they believed the trees were planted in 1896.

Mason Edwards A green park lined by trees. On the other side of the trees is a row of housesMason Edwards
The trees in Stony Stratford line a green area used for community events

The council wrote to residents to announce the work in December and said it was due to take place on 13 January.

It later delayed the work by a week to "respond to the inquiries that have been received".

Mason Edwards, another resident, described the pollarding as being "like a funeral".

He said: "I won't see these trees in leaf again. The more I think about it that is quite a thing."

An older woman wearing a white scarf, a grey coat and black sunglasses. Behind her are trees wrapped in red and white tape.
Mary Shaw said she was concerned the area would be "utterly destroyed"

Ms Shaw, 73, said campaigners had sought specialist advice and did not believe the work was necessary.

"Only four of the 41 need very severe work done on them," she said.

"The others have just been neglected in the last 20 years and just need very careful pruning to make them safe, and not this devastating work that they're doing.

"It is just going to look awful – 41 trees all looking like that. In the summer there will be no shade."

A close-up of a woman with long black hair standing on a greensward while looking into the camera.
Councillor Shanika Mahendran defended the decision to prune the trees

Ms Mahendran, Labour, explained the reason behind the pruning.

She said: "In Milton Keynes we love trees and we want to make sure the trees here are here for a long time - we still want them here in 100 years.

"So, it's about the health of the trees, and also just to ensure they do not become unsafe - this is quite a standard and usual procedure to carry out.

"I know there is a lot of interest in this, but in the grand scheme of things this is quite minor work and so we wouldn't carry out a consultation."

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