Retirement village residents have rallied to save a “majestic tree” that is “testament to the past.”
The horse chestnut tree is due to be removed as part of a planning application to build seven new bungalows, and a laundry and maintenance store, at Cedars Village in Dog Kennel Lane, Chorleywood.
A petition, signed by 65 village residents, was sent to the council as an objection to the plans.
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A tree survey and impact assessment described the tree as “visually significant but showing signs of crown retraction.”
Tina Harrison, 54, is the daughter of a resident, she said: “It’s like they came to assess it with the prosecution, but they haven’t been around the village with the defence.
“I think the Horse Chestnut Tree is majestic and there is something magical about.
“They are saying it is intended for removal because it is diseased and coming to the end of it’s life, but it is also in the way of a proposed road.
“It could do with a fair chance.”
Mrs Harrison, a primary school teacher who runs a school gardening club, organised with some of the residents to protest the tree coming down.
The group have pushed for £350 to be raised to get a second opinion on the tree’s state from experts.
Signatories to the petition said: “These trees have so much social history and contribute so much to the beauty of the area.
“The horse chestnut tree is a testament to the past.
The planning statement, submitted on behalf of Retirement Villages Group, said: “The proposals seek to retain the majority of trees within the already well treed area, the proposals are designed to minimise the impact on trees and secure new replacement tree planting to perpetuate tree cover within the estate.
“The proposed development will result in the loss of very few trees, the trees lost are of low quality, value and defective.
“As such, this loss can be mitigated through the proposed landscape strategy.”
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