Swindon Council warned of town centre tree six weeks before it fell

Shoppers and traders woke up on Monday to see the tree fallen on the Parade.

Author: Harry LongPublished 1st Nov 2024

A tree that fell in the middle of Swindon Town Centre this week had been reported to the council as needing attention.

Shoppers and traders woke up on Monday to see the tree on the Parade, which has been there for decades - uprooted.

Luckily the tree fell in the early hours of the morning and nobody was in any danger.

But Vince Ayris, who runs a well-known cobblers and general repair shop in Havelock Street said it was fairly obvious that the tree was looking less than stable weeks before that.

My Ayris said: “I’m in the town centre every day and I’ve known that tree for more than 40 years.

“I could see a few weeks ago that it had moved and was leaning more than it had been.

“I took some photographs and emailed them into the council to say it needed to be assessed for safety.”

Mr Ayris reckons the spell of very wet weather might have helped the tree, known colloquially as an Indian Bean tree, reach its untimely end.

He said: “It has a big canopy and large leaves and the tree top would have got very heavy with the water it would have absorbed.”

Combined with some gusty wind and the soil surrounding it softened by plenty of rain, that may have made it easier for the tree to be uprooted.

Mr Ayris said: “It’s a real shame because it was there for years and it was a really beautiful tree.

“In Japan they’d have supported it with a steel brace if it needed it.”

A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said: “We were aware of the condition of the tree and were in the process of planning to bring it down safely.

“Unfortunately, before we could do so, the tree fell down of its own accord.”

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