ePetition details

Unnecessary Tree felling in Borough

We the undersigned petition the council to • Create a dedicated and structured team of individuals to oversee preservation. • To explore options on facilitating the protection of Southends existing street trees, rather than simply felling them. • To establish joint tree inspection teams with Southend Borough council, and residents involved. • To open a dialogue with its residents with a view to collaboration, openness and transparency.

This is a petition for the council to halt all tree felling until a proper robust fit-for-purpose policy is in place. Southend has consistently lost 6-7 trees every week for the past 10 years - many unnecessarily. 3,000 in 10 years - right at the height of a climate crisis when we need them more than ever. There have been articles on several councils decimating mature tree populations in certain boroughs across the UK and we’re determined that Southend Borough Councils existing approach does not lead the town in to becoming another such statistic.

Why would you consider signing this petition? Because mature street trees are assets of immense community value - by removing them we are detracting from our towns’ collective health and well being. These trees cannot be replaced in our lifetime - trees are also beneficial in:

1) Reducing the heat island effect.
2) Filtering ever increasing levels of harmful airborne pollution,
3) Providing coppicing for bio-mass fuel,
5) Ground stabilisation,
6) Long term carbon sinks,
7) Provide oxygen that can counter the direct effects of air pollution in our urban areas
8) Provide essential habitat to birds and wildlife (essential in the extinction of species and ecological collapse)
9) Known to enhance human health well-being and help prevent depression
10) Net benefit to property values (how ugly is a street with no trees!!)


We want the council to-
• Create a dedicated and structured team of individuals to oversee preservation.
• To explore options on facilitating the protection of Southends existing street trees.
• To establish joint tree inspection teams with Southend borough council, and residents involved.
• To open a dialogue with its residents with a view to collaboration.

In Sheffield - many thousands of street trees were felled, and it became apparent that some 66% of trees earmarked for removal were not necessary or justified. After costing hundreds of thousands the council have changed their policy.

Our council does have a replacement sapling strategy - but it would take many hundreds of saplings to replicate 1 mature street tree - and furthermore, we rarely see replacement in the streets where trees are removed.

Once Upon a Tree Southend

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2429851517246794/search/?query=letters&epa=SEARCH_BOX

Started by: Gina D'Enham (Once Upon a Tree Southend)

This ePetition ran from 22/07/2019 to 22/07/2020 and has now finished.

71 people signed this ePetition.

 

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