Hello everyone,

It’s been a long while since I last shared an update, and I’m sorry that this is coming with such urgency. As expected, things went quiet over the summer while nesting season was underway. However, in recent weeks a great deal has happened very quickly, and we are now in what feels like the final realistic window to prevent irreversible action.

I am very sorry to report that Wivenhoe Town Council is currently planning to fell Old King George, a 170-year-old oak tree, and a nearby mature horse chestnut, from the 5th January. We are doing everything we can to seek a pause to this decision so that a proper, transparent process can be completed and a fair outcome reached, both for residents affected by movement issues and for the trees themselves. Once these trees are gone, nothing can undo that loss.

Fundraising – asking for your support

Most urgently, we are asking for support with ongoing legal costs, as we explore the possibility of a court injunction or other legal routes to pause the felling while outstanding legal, transparency and procedural issues are resolved. We are also taking advice on the potential for a future Judicial Review.

We do not take this step lightly. For many months we have tried to be constructive and proactive, exploring every alternative before contemplating legal action. Unfortunately, Wivenhoe Town Council and Aviva have not responded in the way we had hoped, as you will see further down this update.

To manage this responsibly, we now have two fundraising routes running in parallel:

1. A pledge-based funding pot
This allows people to indicate the maximum amount they would be willing to contribute if legal action becomes necessary. No money is taken now.
If funds are needed, costs would be shared pro rata across pledgers.
Contributions would be limited strictly to actual legal costs incurred, with full transparency. If legal action is not pursued, no contribution will be requested.
This approach spreads risk fairly across many people, rather than placing the burden on a few. Pledges of all sizes are genuinely helpful. Collectively we are hoping to raise combined pledges in excess of £20,000, which keeps a range of meaningful legal options open at this critical stage.

If you are able to help us in this way, please fill out this pledge form.

2. Crowdfunder (immediate donations)
If you would rather contribute to our funds straight away, our Crowdfunder remains open. A significant portion of the original c. £11,800 raised has already been spent or committed to expert and legal costs, so every contribution now genuinely helps.

Alongside this, we are doing what we can locally. At short notice we held a pop-up shop at the Old Grocery selling artworks and items for Christmas shoppers, which helped boost funds. Thank you to everyone who came. We are also considering organising a Tree Huggers Ball: Part 2. Any future events will be shared via our Facebook group, which is also where we post more frequent updates.

WTC plans to fell the trees

On the 19th November, WTC published a statement confirming its intention to fell the trees by February 2026, largely at the behest of insurer Aviva. Representatives of the campaign group were shown this statement shortly before it was made public.

A follow-up statement on the 11th December then set out timescales for preparatory works. From 15th December, fencing works began, which are now visible in the car park and around the base of the oak.

From 5 January, felling appears likely to begin in earnest, with a full car park closure planned from that date. The council has stated there will be no right of access for pedestrians or vehicles, and has indicated an intention to remove the oak’s trunk in one piece, which may require very large machinery and suggests the process could be swift once it starts. We have at least had assurance that no works on the trees will take place before the 5th January, including pollarding or lopping of branches.

Strangely, as part of the initial fencing works, the council has also closed a public footpath without any relevant order appearing to be in place. This path is the main route for children accessing the KGV playing field, playground, skate park and day nursery from Lower Wivenhoe. For anyone familiar with the town, it is clearly a longstanding right of way. This concern has been raised with the council as a likely breach of public law, and at the very least a real inconvenience to the community. But they have refused to reopen it, stating they do not consider it a public right of way. While perhaps the least of our worries, it is indicative of a wider pattern of decision-making.

Environmental Information Regulations (EIR)

An Environmental Information Regulations (2004) request was submitted to WTC on 20 November, and also to Aviva, seeking disclosure of the evidence and decision-making behind the felling decision.

The response received from WTC last Friday was lengthy but, frankly, insubstantial. Almost all substantive information was withheld on the basis of claimed privilege, applied in what appears to be a blanket way. This is fundamentally at odds with both the spirit and the legal requirements of the EIR, which strongly favour disclosure.

We have therefore immediately requested an internal review. Unfortunately, internal reviews can take several weeks, and only after that can a complaint be escalated to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which we have already signalled we are prepared to do.

Aviva has refused to disclose any information at all. We have written to them to make clear that where they are holding information that has materially informed a public authority’s environmental decision, the EIR may apply to them as well.

Governance and process concerns

Alongside the legal and transparency issues set out above, concerns have also been raised about the decision-making process itself. These include whether the council has been able to exercise fully independent judgement in circumstances where insurer-commissioned evidence has played a central role, and whether appropriate governance safeguards have been applied. We understand that questions relating to process and conduct have been raised with relevant monitoring officers, and that these matters remain under consideration. These are not matters we take lightly, but they further underline why a pause is needed before irreversible action is taken.

Tree Preservation Order (TPO)

We contacted Colchester City Council to make them aware of the imminent felling and to seek an expedient Tree Preservation Order. CCC initially declined, relying heavily on insurer-provided data. We responded with detailed concerns about the serious shortcomings in that data, as identified by independent experts.

CCC has now agreed that the matter requires further consideration, but has stated that this cannot happen until 5 January, when their tree officer returns from leave. This is, of course, the same day the trees are due to be felled, creating a real risk that a credible TPO could be rendered impossible by timing alone.

We have also submitted an FOI/EIR request to CCC regarding their decision-making and source data.

Peaceful protest at Aviva HQ

On Tuesday 9 December, a peaceful protest took place outside Aviva’s London HQ at 80 Fenchurch Street, calling for transparency around the investigations that have driven this situation.

We asked Aviva to meet with representatives of the group to begin a dialogue. They declined and have remained unresponsive since. The protest was covered by the Mail Online and the Insurance Post, where it was reportedly the most-read story for a number of weeks.

Financial Ombudsman

One of the two affected property owners agrees that underpinning is required and believes tree felling will not resolve their movement issues. They have made complaints to the Financial Ombudsman and are awaiting a decision.

In similar cases nationally, the Ombudsman has often favoured underpinning over tree removal. If felling proceeds before the Ombudsman has reviewed this case, the properties may still require underpinning, rendering the loss of these trees entirely avoidable. The council is aware of this but appears unwilling to engage fully with the property owner’s long-running concerns.

Legal advice

We are taking specialist legal advice. Our solicitor, Richard Buxton, has written repeatedly to WTC seeking a pause to felling while serious concerns remain about public law compliance and statutory duties. These letters have not been substantively answered within the requested timeframes.

A further letter has now been sent with a deadline of 2pm tomorrow. If there is no adequate response, court action may be necessary to seek an injunction. This would be a waste of time and money for everyone involved, as the council could simply agree to pause while matters are properly addressed.

Staying vigil-ent

Today is the Winter Solstice, and so members of the community gathered to mark the occasion with a quiet vigil by the trees. We truly hope that Old King George and the horse chestnut will still be standing and thriving when the next solstice comes around in six months’ time, and for many solstices beyond that. However, we are also painfully aware that, without intervention, this winter could be their last.

In summary

There is much more we could share, but this has already been a long update. Despite everything, we increasingly feel that there is still a real chance either to save the trees or, at the very least, to ensure that a lawful, transparent and fair process is followed before any irreversible action is taken.

To do that, we now need financial support. We know this is a difficult time of year to ask, but if you are able to donate via the Crowdfunder or make a pledge toward future legal costs, we would be deeply grateful.

Together, we are strong enough to stand up for these trees, for due process, and for a better way of handling subsidence issues than the rushed destruction of mature natural assets. We have sympathy for the pressures facing the council, but we are also profoundly disappointed by how members of the community have been treated in seeking a fair outcome for people and trees alike.

Thank you, as ever, for reading if you've made it to the very end of this long update, and for your support. We hope to write with better news, and whatever the news, will try to be in touch again soon.

 

p.s. we now have an Instagram account, we would be so grateful if you'd give us a follow and share our posts to help spread our story far and wide. You can find us there at @saveoldoaktreewivenhoe.

We do still post on X too under @Oldoakwivenhoe and on Bluesky at @stopthechop.bsky.social, so hopefully whatever your flavour of social media you will find us there