At our October monthly meeting last week we had very informative and inspiring talks from Haringey Tree Protectors and Friends of Ivatt Way Green. Throughout Haringey there are a number of developments threatening to feel large numbers of mature trees, and the ongoing problem of insurance companies forcing the council to fell mature trees, which they say are the cause of subsidence problems to houses.
Some facts
From 2012 – 2017 – London’s councils felled around 50,000 street trees.
(https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2017/05/our-canopy-is-vanishing-london-councils-remove-almost-50-000-trees-in-five-years
The picture in Haringey.
There are approximately 11,500 street trees in Haringey, 9,000 in parks and greenspaces and 8,000 in housing sites. There is another estimated 5-6,000 in woodlands, schools and nature conservation sites that are not currently recorded (Haringey’s draft Tree and Woods plan 2022). Developments, encroaching urbanisation (St Ann’s site, Ramsey Court, Ivatt Way, Townsend Yard…)
and Insurance claims, which increased by 205% since June/July 2022, are all reducing the number of mature trees in the borough.
We also have the felling of trees on the Parkland Walk (MARCH 2021 – ongoing)
Haringey council has felled over 170 trees including 2 oaks of 150 years old – for bridge inspections and works.
This revealed fundamental issues with approaches to green spaces by Haringey’s Tree Dept, Parks, and Highways, and local action by the Haringey Tree Protectors and others, has thankfully put trees higher up the council agenda.
However, there is to be no green bridge at Stanhope Road, after assurances the council would investigate the options, and a petition has been set up to call on the council to put nature first with the new Stanhope Road Bridge that threatens 10 trees, including a Hairy Oak tree. If the petition gets the required number of signatures from Haringey residents then this will be debated in a full council meeting, so please do sign and share. https://www.change.org/p/we-call-on-haringey-council-to-put-nature-first-with-the-new-stanhope-road-bridge
The Haringey Tree Protectors, Freinds of Ivatt Way Green Space, and Friends of St Ann’s Green space are all highlighting the urgent need for our trees, and in particular our Mature trees to be protected, and we can all get involved. See the links below to petitions & website and join the cause. We would also like to call on the council to sign up to the Joint Mitigation Policy, https://www.ltoa.org.uk/resources/joint-mitigation-protocol , as set out in the excellent Tree Visioning Document from the Haringey Tree Protectors, which can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UA_J7GmBhnSAfBzj5n7Wj5tb3zMOK3y3/view
Petitions & Website
https://linktr.ee/TreeProtectors
https://www.change.org/p/green-oasis-under-threat-at-time-of-climate-emergency