The petitioners sought a faculty for the removal of an avenue of twelve hornbeam trees, planted in 1990 as a memorial to twelve former members of the congregation. They had outgrown their space, making the path and ground beneath them dark as well as uneven through root growth and slippery through leaf-drop. List B consent had been sought for a programme of incremental reduction, leading to complete pollarding; but the DAC had concluded that this would create ugly specimens not worthy of retention, and advised their complete removal. The PCC adopted the proposal, along with mitigations addressing the commemorative and environmental impact. The county council agreed that these were the wrong trees in the wrong place; and the town council did not object to the proposal.
Objectors raised concerns on aesthetic, commemorative and environmental grounds. The aesthetic arguments were mixed, with the trees obscuring views of the church and no reasonable prospect of improving matters through pruning. Relatives of those commemorated had not objected to the proposal, either to the petitioners or to the court. The environmental impact would be mitigated by further works in the churchyard and supporting a tree-planting project in the local area; the PCC's credentials in this respect were demonstrated by its holding a bronze EcoChurch award. A faculty would be granted. [DW]
