Tree campaigners give update on Harrowden Road trees in Wellingborough following ‘surprising meeting’ with council
The fate of four mature trees in Harrowden Road, Wellingborough remain in the balance after campaigners met with North Northants Council (NNC) about their potential felling.
In January, North Northants Council pulled a consultation asking residents for their views on the felling due to an ‘internal error’ after representatives of Wellingborough Walks Action Group (WWAG) wrote to NNC in December requesting that the consultation be paused due to a lack of information.
The trees between Roche Way and Harrowden Road in Wellingborough were alleged to have been ‘found to be contributing to damage to private property’ according to an insurer’s report.
This prompted further scrutiny from WWAG, resulting in a meeting between the two on June 3.
Marion Turner-Hawes, director of Wellingborough Walks Action Group and a town councillor, said: “We had a good if surprising meeting as there were a few things that we expected them to have done that they are still to do.
“The meeting was productive in that we felt they actually listened to us and they also agreed that it was important that they take their time and do things properly, hopefully creating a model approach on how they should act when other cases like this come up.
"It’s still all undecided, but we do feel they are seeing the sense of checking things out for themselves, not just taking what the insurance company has said as read.”
Representatives of Wellingborough Walks Action Group say an arboriculturist has assessed a report from insurer Aviva’s tree expert after concerns surrounding subsidence to a house in Roche Way, however WWAG believes the council’s arboriculturist must conduct their own assessment of the site as it ‘needs to be independent.’
WWAG also say the council has agreed to get a structural engineer to conduct an independent assessment.
North Northants Council has been contacted for comment.