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Local residents are opposed to council plans to cut down three mature Horse Chestnut trees in St Andrew’s Gardens in Gravesend sometime in the Autumn or winter, another five Horse Chestnuts are going to be pruned excessively down to around half their size. This healthy, harmless and impressive group of Chestnuts are the last stand of veteran trees left (of any kind) in central Gravesend. And extensive pruning (of this species) will put at risk their long term survival according to the weight of horticultural advice. We feel the eight large and majestic trees lend character to the riverside, provide useful shade and are an important green buffer in what is increasingly a concrete saturated area, dominated by built up, high density housing. The trees are important habitat for birds, insects and bats. A large number of starlings also use the trees during their stunning murmurations over the riverside.

The trees are in good health and do not pose any threat to the public or roads. Gravesham Council are removing the Chestnuts, as part of the park redevelopment, for purely aesthetic reasons, to “open up the view” but the opposite will be true, instead of a green canopy all we will see are the apartment blocks which now tightly surround the gardens. It’s mean’t to be a village green, not a village grey! After months asking various Council staff why they are taking to the trees with chainsaws, their reasons were only to open up the space, for light and for river views. According to the Council, felling trees will apparently also stop anti-social behaviour. We have suggested dealing with the anti-social behavior itself, but this is possibly too novel a concept for them. And, at the first signs of local opposition, there were new reasons for felling announced by the Council. I have asked the Council to share evidence for these new reasons (arboreal reports), which they were unable to provide. I have also asked for the help of the Council Tree Officer. This is a role which supports tree retention and many councils have them. Graveshams Tree Officer role is vacant at present, but I’m told there is someone acting in the role, he is also the lead manager in charge of removing these Horse Chestnut trees. You can’t make this stuff up! 

There has been very little transparency from the Council throughout the process. The tree work has been kept very quiet so many don’t know about these plans. No direct contact was made with local residents and no public notices about tree removals were put up at the site. If like we do, you also feel this will be a big loss of an important natural asset, in a conservation area and on a village green, at considerable expense (£8900). None of which make any sense, particularly during a global environmental crisis where every tree matters. So far, the council are determined to go against the wishes of residents around the park who will ultimately be the ones who use it. This petition may help, or at least prompt the council into revisiting their plans. If they are really interested in the health of the trees they would wait until the trees are fully winter dormant. Then, if they must interfere at all with these beautiful trees, we prefer a less dramatic approach, retaining all eight specimens and scaling back on how much of the tree canopy they plan to cut down. Otherwise, if the chainsaws go in and the trees do actually survive it, we will have stumps left and it will be many years before they grow back to the impressive proportions we value so much. 

UPDATE: As of 27th of November 2025 council have submitted new planning permission to cut down the 3 Chestnuts and pollard the rest, but in this application they have added the removal of more green tree cover from the park, including pollarding 3 other large Sycamores that stand behind the Elizabeth statue (application number 20251220). So it is important that we all write a quick comment about this, before the 8th of January 2026. it can be as simple as: leave the trees alone! Use the link and type in 20251220. 
https://www.gravesham.gov.uk/planning/view-comment-planning-application