120-year-old London tree faces possible felling amid legal row

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Residents, a local council and insurance companies are embroiled in a legal row over a plan to chop down a 120-year-old plane tree in Haringey, the UK.

The tree, located on Oakfield Road in London borough of Haringey, is at the core of disagreement between the Haringey Council and local residents and environmentalists as the tree would put the council at risk to pay insurance claim of hundreds of pounds.

According to insurance companies, the tree is responsible for subsidence in the homes located just behind the tree, a claim rejected by the Haringey Tree Protectors group.

On Sunday morning, the London council installed barriers around the tree and sent security guards to the area to provide day and night surveillance on the tree.

Footages showed security guards around the tree which is surrounded by a protective wall with fences, scaffolding and a viewing tower.

Although the tree has been an issue among the communities for years, movements in the area have increased since Sunday, as the court is expected to decide whether the tree should be chopped down on Wednesday.

Martin Ball, a Haringey resident, told Anadolu that he is concerned not only about trees in the area but also about environment.

"It's not just about this tree. This is about the whole policy of Haringey Council," he said, adding that he is hopeful that the court and people will see the sense of protecting environment.

He asserted that what's happening is "clearly an attack by insurance companies, as well as by councils on every tree effectively."

Ball warned that if a tree is chopped down like this, every tree across England and Wales and Scotland is under threat of facing "chainsaw."

Ohna Falby, another resident living at one of the two nearby houses, said one part of the dispute just wants the insurance companies to deliver the cover they sold them.

About the court case, she said insurance companies wish to see the tree to be chopped down to avoid paying cover.

"This is so important for the insurance companies to win this battle because for them it's a huge incentive to cut down trees, because they can then put the costs onto the councils and you know, it's very expensive to underpin houses," added Falby.

She went on to say that although insurance companies sell expensive cover to people "who spend fortune" to buy their houses, however they do not deliver the cover when is needed.

On the potential tree felling, the Haringey Council released a statement last year, saying they "appreciate and understand" feeling that the felling of trees invokes among residents.

"We are responsible for approximately 40,000 trees in the borough and, in the vast majority of cases, we only remove trees that are either dead, diseased or dying. I have explained to residents that we remain committed to planting additional trees and want to involve them in our tree planting programme moving forward," said Mike Hakata, deputy leader of the Haringey Council.