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Our mature trees face threat from two fronts
• I WAS pleased to see the amount of coverage given to the proposed revamp of Duncan Terrace Gardens in Angel (Ignore tree protests and sort out this messy park, February 22) and your earlier coverage regarding the tree by Compton Terrace at Highbury Corner.
Mature trees throughout Islington are under threat, whether from the council or from developers seeking planning consent from the council.
How many readers realise that the landmark mature plane tree by the green in Rheidol Terrace has been earmarked for removal? Had this tree been labelled (as proposed by R Harris) to highlight its plight during the consultation process on the Packington redevelopment, I feel sure there would have been significant objections to its being chopped down.
This highly visible pavement tree, clearly planted with visual amenity in mind, could be saved by minor modifications to the plans for the Packington redevelopment which would not jeopardise the overall proposals. It would be possible to set back the proposed buildings to allow this landmark tree to be saved and also save more of the green (which is also within the conservation area).
The developers should make use of the presence of this tree to blur the join between the existing terrace and the new development and thereby enable it to fulfil the function for which it was originally planted.
Their own tree consultants stated that it was a notable tree of high-amenity value, of the highest category for retention, and that it played an important part in softening the built environment.
There seems to be no will within the developers’ team (Hyde) to explore alternatives to the easy option (of removing the tree and planting a replacement elsewhere) or within the council to protect these amenities on behalf of all of us and for future generations.
E Wilson
Rheidol Terrace, N1
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