A COUNCIL has sparked outrage after it cut down an 800-year-old tree and spoiled plans to turn it into a bench.
The Lebanon cedar tree in Rye Cemetery, East Sussex was felled by Rother District Council because it had “decaying roots”.
Residents have called it a “big disaster,” saying the council should have let people know about cutting it down.
The situation was made worse as there had been plans to make a memorial or bench from the timber but it was cut into pieces “smaller than we agreed”.
Local Tony Edwards said: “The problem is they didn’t think it was important enough to inform us before the event.
“Nothing more, nothing less, it’s not a building that can be replaced, it’s a tree that took many years to grow and can’t be replaced so no amount of protesting, reports or kicking political footballs about are going to change that.”
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Noj Refarc said: “I think it’s a big disaster for anyone locally to see that tree go.”
While Ann-Marie Sadler added: “I couldn't bear the thought of walking past the stump where a beautiful tree once stood. These things have a huge impact on our community in very personal ways.”
Sally Bayly said: “This is indeed a shameful chain of events which shows a complete lack of concern, understanding and empathy as regards to the feelings of local people.”
The tree was cut down at the end of August, reports The Argus.
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A specialist report by the council, and seen by the paper, reported root decay fungi in the tree.
The report said the tree is “likely to drop limbs at a minimum” or fall over completely.
It added that it may be possible to help improve the health of the tree but this had to be weighed against the likelihood it could fall on someone in the cemetery.
Labour councillor for Rye and Winchelsea Simon McGurk had organised for the three to be carved into a memorial or bunch but said it had been cut into too small pieces by the contractors.
He told the local paper: “The council had a report for presence of fungus in the tree.
“The roots were impacted by it being beside the church. The crown had also been cut back before.
“The tree needed to be felled. Rother District Council sought the views of councillors and the town council. The information from the officer involved was that it needed to be felled.
“I have been pretty clear this tree is not in my ward, I wanted to make sure there is a memorial for people. We worked hard with the local community groups. We had begun the process of appealing for grants to help pay for the tree carving.
“Unfortunately and to our annoyance, it was carved out. The tree was cut into a smaller size to fit it out of the cemetery gates. I returned to find this had been done. It was in small pieces. It has been moved in smaller pieces than we agreed.
“There is nothing more that we can do. There is a stump left and we are looking if this can stay or if it needs to be moved. I ran a local poll on my Facebook page.
“People’s overwhelming choice was for a yew tree to be planted. It is not my ward so that is only advisory. It was a beautiful tree and we were very sad to see it go.”
A council spokeswoman said: “The cedar tree in Rye Cemetery was surveyed by specialists and was found to have decaying roots. Safety concerns meant that, sadly, the tree had to be felled as a priority.
“A local district councillor made a direct request to the contractor carrying out the work to retain some of the timber for a community project.
"We have since offered timber retained by the district council to that councillor.
“We are happy to support local councillors and the community in discussions about the most appropriate use of the timber for a memorial.”
Just days ago, outrage was also sparked after a yew tree said to be a 1,000 years old was felled in East Sussex.
It comes after the historic Sycamore Gap tree in Northumberland was cut down overnight.
Believed to have been about 300 years old, detectives called it a "deliberate act of vandalism".
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It was among the UK's most photographed trees and was made famous in a scene in Kevin Costner's 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.
The felling also caused damage to Hadrian's Wall, one of Britain's best-known UNESCO world heritage sites.
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