Count me out! Tree surgeon withdraws involvement in controversial Cleethorpes tree-lopping project

                                      

Tree surgeon and agent now wants no further involvement with contentious sycamore scheme (photo: NELC)

THERE has been a surprise twist in the furore over one of the finest trees in Cleethorpes and one that is covered by a preservation order.

At the weekend, tree surgeon Michael Lawn and his firm Acer Tree Care opted to pull out of his involvement in a scheme that would have seen 16ft being lopped off a main branch of the sycamore which is located in a garden  just off the seafront.

In an email seen by the Grimsby News, Mr Lawn writes: "After the multiple emails  sent to me from various people and places, we have taken the decision to withdraw ourselves from any  works to the sycamore tree at 4 Queens Parade, Cleethorpes."

He continues: "We pride ourselves on being one of the best tree surgery companies around, and we feel that this could jeopardise everything we have worked hard for even though we would be confident in carrying out a professional job. 

"Further to this, I instruct you to remove my name and my company's name from any further emails, notices and social media posts." 

It was only last Wednesday that NELC’s planning committee voted 6-4 to approve the dismemberment of the sycamore.

This was  at the request of the Waterfront Residents' Association which claimed that pigeons defecated "continuously" from the branch - though it produced no photographic evidence of a pigeon, or any bird, actually being perched on the threatened branch, let alone defecating from it..

Councillors reached their decision even in the knowledge that the measure would harm the visual amenity of the street scene, seriously wound the tree and  unbalance it such that it could be blown on to the house next to which it has grown for the past 70 years.

In addition, the decision appeared to breach NELC's own Trees Policy which states: "The nuisance of bird droppings is not considered to be a sufficient reason to prune or remove trees."

The lopping proposal was always opposed by the tree's owner, Kate Teakle, who engaged a specialist arboricultural consultancy whose report outlined a raft of potentially unwelcome consequences if the measure were to go ahead.

"If only the toe nails need trimming, why would you amputate a whole leg?" was her wry comment.

The ensuing controversy - picked up both by social media and the Grimsby Telegraph  - was so intense that Mr Lawn decided, probably not least for his own peace of mind, that the wisest option was to withdraw from the project.

However, his name is still formally registered on the planning application document as 'agent' for the scheme, so he may still bear a degree of liability should another firm offer to take on the contentious project. 

In the meantime, Ms Teakle has submitted her own alternative planning application for an all-round 'trim' of the tree which would be significantly less harmful to the tree while allowing it to retain its perfectly-proportioned shape. 

The Grimsby News understands that the council has deferred the decision on her proposal to a forthcoming planning committee meeting, possibly the one on February 26.

The Labour MP for Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Melanie Onn, is aware of the controversy as are the three Croft Baker ward councillors - Cllr Oliver Freeston (Reform UK), Cllr Malcolm Morland (Labour) and Cllr Marian Jervis (Labour) - but, as far as is known, none has made any public comment nor sought to resolve the situation to the satisfaction of all parties.

The Grimsby News says: Mr Lawn's decision to withdraw is both wise and magnanimous. Credit it to him for reaching this conclusion and good luck and prosperity to him and to his highly-regarded firm, Acer Tree Care. Looking to the future, the proposal by the tree's owner for an all-round  'trim' is surely much more pleasing than that submitted by the Waterfront Residents' Association.  Pending a decision, one course of action now open to the association is to request the council to revoke last week's planning permission with immediate effect. This would close one unhappy chapter and allow the two parties to move forward in a spirit of goodwill and harmony.