Treegate -- the aftermath

You'll no doubt recall the unpleasantness earlier this year when our tree agency cut down three plane trees in the Garden without the requisite permission (trees which in any case were not due to be felled at this stage, according to our Masterplan). An investigation by Westminster Council found that there had been a planning breach & since this episode the Board have been debating whether to continue with the agency’s services. However a comparison with the prices & services offered by other tree companies in London revealed that we do in fact enjoy very favourable rates with our current suppliers, so the Board has come to the view that despite the earlier problems switching away from them would only be punishing ourselves. By way of apology the agency has already given the Garden a discount as well as a gift of two small ornamental trees which will be planted out later in the Autumn.

The whole affair led to some animated discussion at this year’s AGM where concern was expressed that the trees had been cut down out of sequence, as a result of which the Board agreed it would be timely to hold a review of the Masterplan 10 years from its inception. The original architect Mark Lutyens has therefore been invited to return to the Garden to give his expert view on how plans are progressing, to be joined by our tree surgeons & Jan from Gravitas. The meeting will take place before the end of the year & the findings subsequently shared with residents.

Meanwhile the tree surgeons will return to the Garden on October 16th &17th to finally remove the three tree stumps. The pollarding process will then be booked in for a time at the end of this year when all the remaining trees have lost their leaves, potentially December.