TWO trees covered by a preservation order are under threat following a Grimsby doctor's call for them to be felled.
According to Dr S. Varah, fallen leaves from the two sycamores near the junction of Augusta Street and Augusta Oaks put pedestrians at risk of slipping and injuring themselves.
In a removal application to NELC, he says: "Over the past few weeks, seven people have slipped on this surface (to my knowledge) with at least one of them requiring medical treatment.
"People who are familiar with the area often choose to walk on the road which presents its own dangers."
He continues: "As the former race doctor at the Cadwell Park circuit, I have in excess of 25 years' in emergency medicine. Fractures were a common injury.
"The population in this area is predominantly retired.
"If one of those individuals was to sustain a hip fracture, the mortality rate is 30 per cent.
"In short, I would like the trees removed."
Dr Varah is also calling for a nearby cedar to be felled, claiming that its branches have become brittle and could, should one fall, "inflict a fatal injury" to a toddler playing underneath.
The council is currently considering the application which the doctor would like to be dealt with "in a timely fashion".
"I do not want anyone to be injured whilst they wait for authorisation from the council," he says.
* The Grimsby News says: These trees are an important part of the street scene - both visually and as a feeding/roosting/perching habitat for songbirds. Deciduous trees shed their leaves for just a few weeks in autumn, but that is part of the beauty of the seasonal cycle. Any short-term inconvenience is miniscule compared with the amenity they provide in this part of Grimsby. Regarding the applicant's claims, he has provided no statistical verification, nor supporting evidence from neighbours or ward councillors. Nor has there been any petition calling for the trees to be felled. If he is so concerned about the potential for accidents, why does he not sweep up and compost the fallen leaves himself? A gesture of public-spiritedness would doubtless be appreciated locally. For these trees to be felled on such a trivial and unsubstantiated basis would set a precedent that would imperil the many other trees in urban locations within a borough that is not noted for its abundance of leafiness.
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