Save the Senlac Road Plane Tree

The Issue

"The trees give us air, and we need air to live." Jess, 8

The last plane tree on Senlac Road, SE12, is threatened with destruction following an insurance claim. It is the last mature tree on this busy road in South East London. Removing it would mean there is no shade and no green in this area. 

It is a beautiful tree, about 70 years old - older than most of us! It has seen local children grow up and is well-loved by the community.  But more than that - this tree, like all urban trees, helps with water conservation, cools the air around it, absorbs dangerous air pollutants, and carbon dioxide. Even if it were replaced by younger trees, they won't be mature enough to do the work this tree does to look after our health for decades. We are in a climate emergency - we cannot afford to lose more of the trees that are keeping us alive and well. 

We desperately need our mature street trees - please, please support us to keep this one by signing the petition!

"We need the tree for our environment." Alice, 7

avatar of the starter
Anna MoorePetition Starter
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46,900

The Issue

"The trees give us air, and we need air to live." Jess, 8

The last plane tree on Senlac Road, SE12, is threatened with destruction following an insurance claim. It is the last mature tree on this busy road in South East London. Removing it would mean there is no shade and no green in this area. 

It is a beautiful tree, about 70 years old - older than most of us! It has seen local children grow up and is well-loved by the community.  But more than that - this tree, like all urban trees, helps with water conservation, cools the air around it, absorbs dangerous air pollutants, and carbon dioxide. Even if it were replaced by younger trees, they won't be mature enough to do the work this tree does to look after our health for decades. We are in a climate emergency - we cannot afford to lose more of the trees that are keeping us alive and well. 

We desperately need our mature street trees - please, please support us to keep this one by signing the petition!

"We need the tree for our environment." Alice, 7

avatar of the starter
Anna MoorePetition Starter
Media enquiries

The Decision Makers

Lewisham Council
Lewisham Council
Responded
“We regret that despite the best efforts of our tree services team and the actions they have taken to save a plane tree implicated in subsidence of a nearby property in Senlac Road, we have been left with no option but to remove the tree. Since a report of subsidence by the property owner in 2011 we have explored all options for retaining the tree. After a detailed study, we cut back its branches and leaves by 50 per cent in 2012, 2015 and 2019 to significantly reduce the amount of moisture it needed. We also considered introducing barriers to stem the spread of the tree’s roots but we ruled this out because there is not enough room between the tree trunk and the property wall to fit a root barrier. Even if there had been sufficient space, a root barrier could only have provided a temporary and not a long-term solution. Meanwhile, further reports of subsidence at the nearby property have been reported. We have a legal duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent damage occurring to a third party’s property. We understand why residents are upset, and want to reassure local people that removing this plane tree is a last resort and not a decision that the council takes lightly. We recognise the many benefits that mature trees provide in terms of biodiversity, shading, flood prevention and visual amenity. Protecting and nurturing trees is really important to us. We look after about 37,000 trees – more than 24,000 of which we’ve planted since 2017 - and we’re absolutely committed to planting more. We will be planting two trees in Senlac Road and will be working with the residents to select the species of these.”

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Petition created on 19 July 2021