Wellingborough trees live to see another day as people power stops contractors

More than 100 protesters who campaigned to stop the felling of 61 trees in Wellingborough prevented contractors from beginning their work after a stand-off this morning.

Residents spontaneously gathered under the trees along London Road, know as The Walks, to protect the historic lime avenue from its controversial destruction for a road widening scheme. It had previously been approved by the now-defunct Borough Council of Wellingborough as part of the £1bn Stanton Cross development.

Protesters stood at the entrance to the Embankment car park, where workers had parked their vans containing barriers needed to section off the pavement. It meant they were unable to start work as the road was not closed.

Visitors to the leisure area were allowed to pass freely as the good-natured protest took place, with protesters waving to passing motorists.

Protester Mark Elliott said: “I wasn’t planning on coming today but I used to live in Little Irchester and these trees were a big part of my life.

"I used to walk under them into town. Taking out 11 trees is one thing, but why do 61 need to go if 11 does the job?”

Kerry Leese and her daughter Harper, four, were taking part in protest.

She said: “The trees are important, they do a really good job – they form the historic Walks and are beautiful, they are homes to bees and birds but one of those mature trees does the same job as 300 saplings that have been in the ground for four to five years. For 11 trees that would be 3,300 saplings. These trees are so important globally and locally.

"This year I promised myself that I would do things that my future self would be proud of. That’s why I brought my daughter along – we need to act now. We can’t wait for another generation.”

Police were called to the scene with a lone police officer initially arriving at 9.50am in an unmarked car.

A spokesman for Northants Police said: “We were called about this just after 9.20am this morning and facilitated a peaceful protest. No offences have been committed.”

A little later a further four police officers arrived at the site, including an inspector. Those standing on the pavement were told they could be arrested for obstructing the highway.

Moves were made to move the height restriction barrier across the car park to allow the trucks to pass but, after a rumour that a High Court ruling was to be made at midday, workers stayed in their vans.

It became clear that no such legal challenge was being made but police liaison between protesters and road crews determined the workers would not have enough time to set up their barriers if they had not started work by 1.30pm.

As the stand-off continued, behind the scenes Marion Turner-Hawes, who had first highlighted the imminent felling of the trees, was seeking legal advice from campaigning specialist ‘tree barrister’ Paul Powlesland, founder of Lawyers for Nature.

He has offered his services to help sift through the hundreds of documents to ascertain if there is any legal way to challenge the planning decision.

Cheered by protesters, the Chevron workers left the car park after five hours of waiting, with people promising to return tomorrow (Tuesday) to carry on the fight.

Freddie and Georgina Harris, both 77, have vowed to come back.

They said: “We will bring chairs and coffee. We’ll be here for as long as it takes. We have never done anything like this before. We moved here in the 1970s and it was a lovely market town now they are ripping the heart out of the town.”

Developer Stanton Cross and planning authority North Northants Council have been contacted for a comment.