Locals launch campaign to save nine veteran trees in Shrewsbury
The Woodland Trust has described the trees as ‘irreplaceable’.
Last updated 7th Dec 2023
A campaign to save nine veteran trees – including a 550 year old Darwin Oak – has launched in Shrewsbury.
Campaigners say they are among 1,100 trees and over 4km of hedgerows that will be destroyed if the North West Relief Road is built.
Local residents have visited each of the nine veteran trees – seven oaks, an ash, and one field maple – and decorated their branches with ribbons and ties to draw attention to their plight.
The Woodland Trust has described the trees as ‘irreplaceable’.
The Save The Shrewsbury 9 campaign is now asking the public to help them choose names for eight of the trees before a ‘tree christening ceremony’ takes place in January.
Speaking for the campaign Tina Teearu, an ecologist who lives in Shrewsbury, said: "People all over the world now know about the Darwin Oak after it featured in The Guardian and in the German press. We want to remind everyone about the other eight veteran trees that don’t have names yet. They are equally important and just as irreplaceable.
"Each of these trees has stood for hundreds of years and is a living ecosystem in its own right. These trees connect us to our past. They have witnessed some of the greatest moments in our collective history. That’s why we’re inviting local people to help us name them."
While the Darwin Oak is the oldest and most famous of the nine, the other trees are also described by campaigners as irreplaceable. It is estimated that the combined capital asset value of the nine trees is around £1.5m.
The trees include ‘T65’ on Shelton Way, the oldest of the remaining Shelton Oaks, around 342 years old. The famed Shelton Oak was reportedly climbed by Owain Glyndŵr during the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. It is thought to have fallen in a storm in 1940.
At the other end of the road, trees ‘T2’ and ‘T3’ stand near Ellesmere Roundabout and are aged 361 and 281 years old respectively. They’re sometimes referred to as ‘The Restoration Oaks’, because they date back to when Charles II was returned to the throne after Cromwell.
Save The Shrewsbury 9 campaigners say it’s important to draw attention to these veteran trees, especially because there is a chance that Shropshire Council could fell them before work properly begins on the NWRR.
The council’s tree team has recently been flooded with requests from Shropshire residents asking for all the at risk trees to be given interim Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs).
Tina Teearu said: "We think there is a very real risk that the council tries to secure the NWRR route for the future by putting in hammerheads for construction vehicles and clearing problematic vegetation, including these trees. They could do this at any moment, even though work on the road won’t properly start until the summer of 2025.
"We think the council’s tree team should ensure that the trees aren’t felled until it is 100% certain that the road is going ahead. At the moment, with 36 planning conditions still undecided, no proper costings, and a general election looming, there is no guarantee that the NWRR will ever be built. It would be an unforgivable act of vandalism if the Conservative administration felled these trees only for the NWRR to be cancelled by the next government. We need them to be protected and we’re calling on council leader Lezley Picton to personally intervene."
A spokesperson from Shropshire Council said: "On 31 October, Shropshire Council’s planning committee approved the application for the Shrewsbury North West Relief Road (NWRR), subject to agreement of the Section 106 and conditions. In reaching its decision, the planning committee took account of the importance, value and significance of the nine veteran trees and other trees and woodland affected by the scheme.
"Since this decision, the council has received a number of requests from the public to make a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) on the nine veteran trees to be removed to enable construction of the NWRR. Although it should be noted that two of the nine trees are already protected under TPOs that existed prior to the planning application being submitted.
"The council does not consider it beneficial at this stage to make a new TPO related to the NWRR for the following reasons:
• Under tree protection legislation, a TPO does not provide protection against removal of a tree where necessary to implement a full planning permission.
• It is therefore not possible to apply a TPO to the seven unprotected veteran trees that under approved plans are to be removed to implement the NWRR scheme.
• In the event of a legal challenge to the planning permission, the situation will be reviewed.
"As part of the Compensation Strategy for the NWRR, 84 new trees will be planted to replace the nine veteran trees to be lost and 14 others remaining but affected by the scheme, in locations chosen to afford the new trees the best chance of becoming veteran trees of the future. In addition, some 4ha of new native woodland is to be planted and fully costed, bespoke veteran tree and woodland management plans will be put in place to enhance the condition of 26 other veteran trees, an area of ancient woodland and two Local Nature Reserve sites affected by the operational impacts of the NWRR.
"This compensation is a vital part of a much wider legacy of thousands of new trees and several kilometres of hedgerows to be planted under the approved landscaping scheme. As well as trees, there are plans to create biodiverse corridors and make much-needed improvements to natural habitats which will attract and support a variety of wildlife.
"For further information about the scheme, people can visit the council’s website here: <a class="article-body-link" href="https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/roads-and-highways/shrewsbury-north-west-relief-road/"">https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/roads-and-highways/shrewsbury-north-west-relief-road/"
The Save The Shrewsbury 9 campaign is planning a series of events, including a ‘Save Our Walks’ on-lead dog walk to visit the trees on 27 December.
There will also be a community sign-making workshop on 6 January at the English Bridge Workshop for people to create signs and decorations ahead of the christening ceremony.
To suggest names for the trees, you can email the campaign at SaveTheShrewsbury9@gmail.com