Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for your ongoing support! The last ten days have been amazing, we have already reached over the halfway point to our minimum fundraising target of £10,000 on CrowdJustice! This is a great start to the fundraiser, we really appreciate every single donation that has brought us to this point.

We now have just under 3 weeks left to our reach our £10,000 minimum target by the 29th January! If you can please share our story and spread the word with other people, it would really help to make a difference. (See links and social media accounts at the end of this update.)

Today our story also hit the front page in local newspaper, the Colchester Gazette, with the headline 'Axing oak won't fix house problems' (cover image of this update). They reported on the situation of one of the families affected by the movement issues involved in the subsidence claim at the heart of our story. That family have said 'we don't want to see the trees chopped, and we don't think temporary repairs are the right solution.' They seek, on the advice of their engineers, underpinning. This is consistent with the separate recommendations made in our Independent Expert Evaluation report too. 

We wanted to take this opportunity to say that we are very sorry to hear about the situation faced by the affected homeowners and residents, and the difficulties it seems this family has experienced over several years in being heard by Aviva and Wivenhoe Town Council. No one involved in this campaign underestimates the stress and uncertainty that structural damage and potential subsidence can cause, and we recognise how challenging this must be for those directly affected.

It is sometimes assumed that this campaign is about “saving the trees at all costs”, or that it's a case of homes vs trees. That is not the case. Our aim has always been to ensure a transparent and lawful decision-making process, with proper disclosure of the evidence relied upon. We are concerned that felling the trees at this stage may not resolve the movement issues affecting the properties, and that underpinning could still be required later. If so, the trees would have been lost without addressing the underlying problem, at significant and irreversible cost to the wider community.

We do not believe it is appropriate for such an irreversible decision as felling these trees to be taken before key processes have concluded, including the complaints to the Financial Ombudsman that we understand have been made by the Dutton family, and before outstanding Environmental Information Regulations requests have been properly answered. These issues formed part of what was put before the court and were taken into account in the judicial review application and for granting interim relief via the Injunction Order. We await further news on the court case and will share news when we have it.

We believe the injunction provides necessary time for all competing risks and interests to be properly examined, rather than decisions being taken in haste at the insurer Aviva's behest. We hope that all affected residents will ultimately be given a fair and lasting solution.

You can read our thoughts as reported separately by today's Colchester Gazette here. The front cover article referenced above isn't live yet as a digital piece, but we will share on social media when it becomes available.

We have profiles on Bluesky, X, Instagram and an active community group on Facebook. Please give us a follow and say hello whatever your flavour of social media! Building a following and sharing our story is a huge part of our current phase of the campaign, as we try to grow funds and support towards a Judicial Review.

We hope sharing this update with you all helps you to see the value in the fundraising efforts and the wider legal case, which are seeking to work towards the aims of this petition. If you believe in our story, please share the CrowdJustice page and Change.org petition on whatever social media platforms you use, or by email to people you think will be sympathetic to our cause.

Thanks again for all the support, it is very much appreciated.