Just wanted to do a quick update and let you all know the latest developments regarding Chester the plane tree...

Southend Council were due to decide on the approval or rejection of a tree preservation order for Chester at a council meeting on Wednesday 3rd April.  However, due to quite a substantial amount of information submitted before the meeting (including an objection to the advised refusal for a TPO, a petition compiled of a significant number of signatures and an independent TEMPO undertaken by a tree expert who concluded that Chester certainly scores highly enough to merit TPO recognition), the council decided to defer this matter until a future meeting.

At Southend Tree Action Group, we are relieved that this hopefully means that the council will seriously consider the information they now have and will take a little more time to come to a decision on awarding the Tree Preservation Order.

We also await the meeting to discuss the motion proposing changes to the road layout which would allow the pavement to be widened and Chester to happily remain.

Southend Tree Action Group will be organising some family friendly events and fun actions to continue to highlight the importance of street trees in our city and to remind Southend City Council just how much local residents care about Chester and his survival.

There has also been a brilliant song produced by Welsh Productions about our gorgeous tree!! Check it out on STAGs Facebook page (STAG Southend Tree Action Group) and X (@STAG_Essex)! 

Thanks once again for your incredible support and hope we can continue to provide positive updates on Chester in the future.