Resident hits out at state of 'beautiful' tree after work carried out by housing company

Contractors were hired by Rykneld Homes to cut down branches of a massive tree at Redfern Street, Tupton. The works started on Monday, August 21 and continued until Wednesday, August 23, when the tree was left substantially cut back

John Russel, who lives in Tupton, said: “I'm shocked and extremely sad that this has happened. It was a beautiful and massive tree, the size of two or three houses. It used to be a huge part of the neighbourhood, a big part of the character of the road. You could see it from quite far and when I was sitting in my garden I could hear it rustle.

"No arborist would ever recommend felling a perfectly healthy tree that is an asset to the environment, health and wellbeing, and a home to a huge amount of animals. Rykneld have ordered this work in the middle of summer when there will be many animals nesting in there, including a lot of birds - all the wildlife organisations recommend against it because it is harmful to animals.”

As soon as John noticed that the tree was being cut, he approached the contractors with questions and soon found out that Rykneld Homes were responsible for the decision. He contacted the company, asking what was the reason behind it.

John said: “It really angered me because the lady that I spoke to seemed not very bothered and unwilling to give an explanation. She told me the tree was just too big, and it might cause problems in the future. That's not an adequate reason for us to be destroying our planet.

"The tree was right at the bottom of the gardens and away from the flats at the property. Nobody's ever had any complaints about it. I went around to have a look and it seemed absolutely fine.

"It’s certainly very bad practice to take a whole tree down especially one that's so established. With the state of the world as it is I think it's really sad. We should be doing what we can to protect the environment, not taking it away. And from what I gather, there was no good reason to take this perfectly healthy, beautiful tree away. We cannot afford to let this happen to any more trees.”

When contacted by the Derbyshire Times, a spokesperson for Rykneld Homes said: “The tree was assessed after legitimate concerns were raised by a Rykneld customer. All necessary assessments and checks were carried out and a decision to pollard the tree was made.”

Niall Clark, director of property services and development at Rykneld Homes, added: “Following all necessary checks, works have been carried out this week to pollard the tree. The tree will recover from this work and grow back in a more healthy state.

“Prior to any works of this nature being approved, we always complete Equality Impact Assessments and we do not take decisions to reduce or remove trees lightly.”