Plans to bring judicial review against Plymouth tree felling scheme
Hundreds were cut down on Armada Way in the city centre, before an injunction stopped the works
Last updated 16th Mar 2023
Campaigners plan to bring a judicial review against the decision to cut down hundreds of trees in Plymouth City Centre.
Most were felled in the early hours on Tuesday night (14 March), despite 16,000 people signing a petition to save them.
It comes just weeks after a report found Sheffield Council "behaved dishonestly" when it cut down its trees.
Campaign group - Save The Trees of Armada Way - said: "It's hard to find the words to do justice to the way we are feeling today and to describe what has just happened.
"At approximately 6pm last night, the 14th of March, Plymouth City Council sent lorries, heavy machinery, scores of security guards, contractors and police officers to Armada Way, including 3 police dogs.
"It didn't take long for us to realise what they were planning but nobody could have predicted the extent and speed at which they would act.
"Our incredible lawyer Alice worked through the night on an injunction, somehow got a judge to sign it and we presented it to Paul Barnard (PCC Strategic, Planning and Infrastructure officer) at 1am.
"All work immediately stopped, and as soon as the mocking from the security guards finished all that could be heard was a fabulously defiant blackbird, singing his heart out.
"We have filed for a judicial review. A decision we did not want to take but comes with the territory of the injunction.
"The worst case scenario is the rest of the trees are cut down and a massive financial loss for me personally. Best case scenario, the injunction means on top of the planned trees to be kept, we have saved a dozen or so trees. It feels like a small victory.
"117 beautiful trees were wiped from the face of Plymouth in just a horrifying 5 hours.
"The thing the council wanted to avoid - the death of the city centre - has indisputably happened and at the risk of sounding dramatic, with it went our democracy.
"Plymouth's reputation is in tatters and the people who fought so hard to fight this decision have been shown that the council couldn't give a toss about what they think. An utter disgrace."
A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council said: "Contractors moved onto the site last night (14 March) to prepare for the Armada Way project to get underway.
"This work involved a plan to remove 129 trees, keep 24 existing trees and leave a further three trees which had been earmarked for removal but had been identified as having birds nesting in them.
"The work started at around 8pm once the city centre site had been made safe and secured as a construction site.
"For reasons of public safety and impact on the city centre and given the size of the tree machinery due to come onto Armada Way, we scheduled the works to be carried out at night with as few people around as possible. We aimed to minimise the disruption caused to the public and businesses by cordoning off parts of Armada Way.
"All but 16 of the trees due to be felled are now down. In total 110 trees were felled but an injunction served at 1am meant we had to halt the works entirely.
"The plan had been to remove all the felled trees and shave off and make safe any stumps along the main pedestrian routes once all the trees had come down before the start of the working day. Unfortunately the injunction meant we had to stop work.
"The contractors cleaned up the site and installed more fencing to ensure the felled wood is out of bounds.
"Other trees that remain are three which have bird nests and 24 which were due to remain under the revised plans.
"The revised plans were published yesterday evening together with the decision to go ahead with the scheme, the results of the engagement and a review into the consultation. All of this is online [https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/armada-way ](https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/armada-way |newtab)
"We await applications from the claimant as directed by the court."