Hello all,

We are now well in excess of 2,600 petition signatures, thank you all so much for the support. 

Lots of news to share with you all. In the very shortest sense, this tree is still being felled on Monday and is in grave danger.

The main headlines

• The Tree Preservation Order has unfortunately not been granted due to evidence submitted by the insurer, Aviva that identifies clay shrinkage and tree roots to be contributing to subsidence. This does not mean that the tree must be felled, it simply means that under planning at the moment in the UK a TPO cannot be issued. Alternatives to felling do still exist to address clay shrinkage (a very common cause of subsidence in the UK) and this decision by the Tree Officer does not undermine that existence of alternatives (e.g. underpinning, polymer injections) in any way. It just means that we now know with certainty that Wivenhoe Town Council and Aviva have the sole control of deciding whether this tree should be felled. Colchester Council have no further means of influencing that decision.  In retrospect, a tree of this stature and contribution to our town and community ought to have had a TPO granted before now but here we are, one for us all to think on in the future for other trees we love.
• Wivenhoe Town Council have shared an updated statement on their reasons for felling the trees and have restated their intention to fell the tree on Monday 13th January (unlucky for this tree!). They have clarified the exact implications that Aviva has said will come into play if the tree is not felled before 1 February 2025 (which is critically when nesting season starts and they will not be able to fell the tree from this point).
• Is this threat real? Whether the case as presented by Aviva as relayed by WTC is proceed-able and whether failure to comply would lead to subrogation is something we do question and any expert thoughts on the legal precedent here would be welcomed. Especially as we have learned the Financial Ombudsman is increasingly preferring underpinning over felling of trees, something we would like more advice on, as this is obviously scary and worrying for the WTC and driving their haste to proceed with this decision despite much community upset. 
• There is a bubbling query about the other two (or perhaps more?) trees being felled and whether appropriate permissions and due process is in place due to their position in a private road. This we will seek to clarify with the council as soon as possible.
• With all this in mind, we still ask WTC to hold off from the felling. We ask Aviva to assure WTC they will hold off their legal/financial levers being enacted and for a more collaborative, consultative approach to be taken.

Urgency

We are approaching the 'deadline' here. The tree being felled is irreversible and final. It is happening on Monday 13th - Wednesday 15th. It is now almost the end of the working week so we are reaching the end of the window where any emails and letters are likely to be processed or responded to by relevant parties. It seems possible, but unlikely that Wivenhoe Town Council will change their position to fell the tree.

Event

We are holding a peaceful gathering tomorrow, Saturday 11th January, from 2pm (family-friendly play/craft session from 2pm, photo from 2.45-3pm, then some speeches, stories and poems) to allow the community to come together to show support for the tree's retention in an attempt to change hearts and minds.

The theme for the event is 'yellow' and we ask the community to wear yellow (if you have it already) and to bring along yellow ribbon, yellow fabrics etc to help us to 'tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree' together. We will take a group photo and then form a human yellow ribbon at 3pm, holding hands together for what should be a special moment as we ‘tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree’ together. Wrap up warm!

We will be meeting at the playground and KGV park just beyond the tree (which is in the car park opposite the Greyhound pub). Full information on our Facebook Event. 

What else can I do?

• We have a list of suggested community actions - see here.
• The community actions file includes an email/letter template to send out to press/media/persons of influence. Rather than checking if we've tried contacting so-and-so please feel confident to use this and write to whoever you think might be able to help us. The team behind this campaign are increasingly overwhelmed by the volume of ideas and communications etc so we may not always be responsive, but please know we are trying our best.
• We want this story to reach the national press. Please help us to share the story on social media and continue to keep building this petition's list of signatories.
• Some individuals may choose to participate in further peaceful gatherings and protests in the days to follow. That is an individual choice and is not something that we can or do directly endorse. If you are so inclined, do be mindful of the current laws and limitations to protest in the UK and act with knowledge of safe protest if you do choose to take more direct action.

What about if the tree is felled?

We are approaching the end of the time frame for changing Wivenhoe Town Council and Aviva's minds, but it's not over yet. However, if the tree is felled, our journey is still not over:

•  There are questions still unanswered about the process WTC and Aviva have taken up to this point. Felling this tree is in our opinion still avoidable and a travesty. We will see this as an injustice. We need to ensure this cannot happen again.
• Wivenhoe is developing a Biodiversity Action Plan. We should all be contributing to this effort, and others, constructively to make our local planning policy stronger around what we want to see, rather than needing to be reactive as we have been here when things have come to pass we do not like.
• There are obvious weaknesses in British planning policy and the law that have allowed this tree to be without any protections and for an insurance company to hold a town council to this degree of secrecy, preventing the community from being part of a consultive process. This may require consideration in terms of how we change the system to safeguard nature better. The CEE bill is fast approaching review in parliament, take a look at this and see what you think. Write to your MP If you want them to support it.
• There is the question of what happens with the felled tree and the void left in the car park and how to commemorate the tree.
• Others around the country face the same situation. We would like to share our story and lessons learnt to help others to have successful campaigns in the future.
• We should consider applying for TPOs on other well-loved trees in Wivenhoe and elsewhere to protect other trees.
• We will need to consider the 'offsetting' strategy the WTC has proposed carefully for any remedial compensation of the loss of this tree.
• We will want to ensure the children's playground does not become an unpleasant environment for children and seek improvements for the children in our community accordingly.

Let's hope we don't get to this point, but food for thought.

Final thoughts

 To reiterate, the tree is now in grave danger of being felled. We have not managed to yet change the mind of WTC and Aviva but will keep trying. The window of opportunity is closing, but not closed yet. The tree still is standing and we can do only our best to save it. We should all be proud to have tried but saddened that this is the sorry state of how we treat nature, upon which we so rely.

If you have read to this point, thank you. We will be singing this song on Saturday, whether you can be there or not, give it a listen and sing along if you can.