Inquiry calls after Bristol trees felled

A council watchdog is backing calls for a full inquiry into the felling of four mature trees in the grounds of a Bristol school.

Residents are furious that the trees were chopped down to make way for a new rear entrance at Cotham School which is undergoing a major makeover.

Tory Councillor Peter Abraham, who is chairman of the council's Children's Scrutiny Commission, said: "I believe there should be a full inquiry on this issue.

"We have asked the appropriate cabinet councillor to take this matter up. We need to ascertain how it was that these trees were felled.

"The loss of mature trees is something that we all regret."

He said that if the cabinet councillor's reply was unsatisfactory, then the commission would call for its own inquiry.

The move was prompted by a call from Liberal Democrat councillor Neil Harrison who represents Cotham ward. He said that an inquiry would help the local community understand what happened.

He said the "sorry fiasco" was a "tragic and avoidable loss of highly-prized urban trees".

He claimed it was developer Skanska's fault that the trees were taken down and hopes that an inquiry will encourage them to put the situation right.

Skanska has told the Bristol Evening Post that permission was given as part of outline planning consent which was given by the city council last November. It was a condition of the consent that a tree assessment should be submitted to the council before the felling was carried out.

Skanska said this was given to the council on December 22.

But the trees were taken down before formal written approval was received by the company.

The four trees – a holm oak, a beech and two sycamores – were more than 100 years old and 15 metres (about 45ft) high.

They were at the Cotham Road entrance to the school, forming part of the boundary of the site and highly visible from the road and surrounding houses.

Residents said they were shocked to find the trees had been felled.

They said they had no idea they would be chopped down as part of the building work.

Skanska has said the mature trees will be replaced by new ones and there will be extensive landscaping at the site.