Our beautiful trees have been "butchered" by local council to save cash - it's ruined our historic market town

Angry locals have accused the council of “ruining” the appearance of their historic market town by sawing off the tops of over 20 trees, in a bid to save cash. Residents say the extreme pruning looks like ‘vandalism’, and are worried that it will impact birds, wildlife and tourism in the area.

Trees ‘vandalised’

Video (click to play above) shows the before and after of the lime trees that line the high street in Henley-in-Arden, Warks - which has angered residents and shop owners.

Resident Roger Cooper, 75, said: “The beautiful lime trees are a delight to the eye and absorb the carbon dioxide from traffic to make the High Street a special place for residents and visitors. The trees look as if they have been vandalised.”

A small team of arboriculturalists in harnesses, seen in the video, spent several days sawing off the tops of the 50ft tall trees. Warwickshire Council Council say the pollarding work was carried out to save money due to their “very limited budget”.

Environmental impact of trees being cut down

Alan Parker, 50, who has lived along the road for five years, said it the first time he has seen them cut back to this extent. He said: “They’ve butchered the trees beyond all recognition. I just can't understand how they get away with it and just at a time when wildlife and birds are thriving. The environmental impact is terrible and God knows what visitors think when they see the state of them.”

Remedial work

Warwickshire Council Council said the trees have been pollarded, which involves removing the upper branches of a tree, aiming to promote the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches.

The council's Forestry team said: “These trees are pollarded on a cyclical basis, issues presented from the growth of these trees have been brought to our attention with contact from residents and businesses directly, and from residents via the Parish, in relation to the growth of these trees coming into contact with buildings and hanging low over the footpath.

“Whilst it was considered that remedial pruning works could mitigate the issues in the short term, it did not make for an efficient use of resources to carry out these remedial works, only to then carry out cyclical pollarding towards the latter end of the year. We have a very limited budget in relation to the scope of tree work required across the entire county, therefore this method was deemed a poor use of resources.”