We now have reason to believe that the tree will be felled in Tuesday this coming week. This is despite clear public support – our petition has over 32000 signatures, multiple letters have been written to the council from residents, our local councillors have been vocally opposed to the felling of the tree, and our MP, Janet Daby has also written to the council to tell them of her concerns. We also have social media support from national figures on social media including the writers Robert Macfarlane and Mini Grey, and a barrister from Lawyers for Nature who has successfully fought similar cases has joined our campaign.

Lewisham council has not responded to our freedom of information request within the statutory 20 days, citing workload as a reason for the delay. They have however provided information to the MP about the survey that was undertaken by a tree root loss adjuster, which showed the presence of tree roots, but there is no balancing of this with consideration of other possible causes. There is also no mention of the potential outcomes of felling the tree, which can lead to further soil changes and further subsidence – more information on this below. None of these potential outcomes seem to have been considered. And another option, that of underpinning the house to protect it from future subsidence of any cause, has not been mentioned. The council is refusing to release the documents, citing personal information as a reason, however the entire community will be affected if this tree is felled.

Lewisham council has assured us on multiple occasions that they understand the value of trees for our climate and our health, however what they have done to avoid felling seems inadequate. They reported that between 70-110 trees have been felled in the last 5 years due to insurance claims in Lewisham alone! We believe they just do not have the resources to fight the insurance company, and have told us that the costs of a legal case with the insurance company could eradicate any funding they have to look after trees in the future. It cannot be that we have to lose our vital mature trees to save money for new tree planting initiatives, and given that new trees do not become net carbon reducers for 40 years, replacement of our tree with two new saplings, as has been offered by the council, is laughable. Our 90-year-old plane absorbs 72kg of carbon per year; the council’s own estimation of the number of mature trees felled in the last 5 years equates to an estimated loss of nearly 39000kg of carbon absorption over 5 years. We just don’t have time for this to continue. Lewisham is not the only council affected by this issue – it is happening all over the country.

The real tragedy in this case is that we all lose. The insurance company is choosing the cheapest route, forcing the council to fell the tree rather than taking more effective action to protect the home e.g. by underpinning. This means that they are not doing their job of protecting the policy holder’s home and could even cause further harm in future through the loss of the tree. The policy holder loses twice – the house is not properly protected and they lose their tree as well. As a community we lose our clean air, water handling, cooling and the visual beauty of the tree which contributes so much to our local area.

So what can we do? We will be getting back in touch with the council to offer them financial, legal and community support with their interactions with the insurance companies involved in these cases. You can help by writing to our mayor, Damien Egan, Tree Officer Rick Farr and head of Parks, Sports and Leisure, Vince Buchanan – emails are below. Please also cc us in at savelewishammaturetrees@gmail.com.

Please also consider contributing to our Crowdfunder here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/save-lewishams-mature-trees (please copy and paste into your browser). This will help us commission a qualified tree surveyor to examine the information the council has given us and give an independent opinion of the issues and ways to protect both the house and the tree. Please note this fund is run jointly between our campaign and the Moremead Oaks - which are at threat for exactly the same reason - petition here: Petition · Save our Oaks! · Change.org

Here's the email template - feel free to just copy and paste, or add your own thoughts!

Date_______

Mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan: damien.egan@lewisham.gov.uk

Tree Officer, Richard Farr: Richard.Farr@lewisham.gov.uk

Head of Parks, Sports and Leisure, Vince Buchanan: Vince.Buchanan@lewisham.gov.uk

Dear Mayor Egan, Richard, and Vince,

I am writing to express my deep concern that the Senlac Road Plane remains at risk of felling. I understand that the loss of this tree will add to the 110 mature trees already felled in Lewisham in the last 5 years. In the face of the recent IPCC report and the climate crisis we are living through, this fact is horrifying.

I urge you to reconsider your position. We understand that councils are suffering chronic underfunding and simply don’t have the resources to fight the insurance companies who are forcing the destruction of these trees for their own financial gain. Please unite with other councils around the country who are suffering similar cases e.g. the successful case in Basingstoke: (Petition · Save the New Road Oak Tree · Change.org), and work with campaigners such as Lawyers For Nature – who are also involved in this case – to hold insurance companies to account over their actions.

We need our mature trees and all the health benefits they bring. Replacement with saplings is not a solution, and indeed these new trees can take up to 40 years to start absorbing carbon effectively (see link below). 

Please, please work with the campaigners for the Senlac Road Tree to fight this wanton destruction of our ecological heritage. We owe it to future generations, and we owe it to ourselves.

Yours sincerely

Name

Address

Council and ward

Please copy in savelewishammaturetrees@gmail.com

If you are a resident of Grove Park please also copy in your local councillors, Suzannah Clark (cllr_suzannah.clarke@lewisham.gov.uk), Hilary Moore (cllr_hilary.moore@lewisham.gov.uk) and Colin Elliott (cllr_colin.elliott@lewisham.gov.uk)

Links to more information - copy and paste into browser to find the page: 

Health benefits of trees: The benefits of trees for livable and sustainable communities - Turner‐Skoff - 2019 - PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET - Wiley Online Library

The carbon cost of planting new trees vs keeping mature trees: A manifesto for protecting Bristol’s urban forest – Bristol Tree Forum

Subsidence and trees: CLAY SOILS, SUBSIDENCE, HEAVE, TREES AND ROOTS – PART 2 | Peter Barry

Tree carbon calculator: TREES (ncsu.edu)