Armada Way Tree Felling Was Shameful and Wrong

Armada Way Tree Felling Was Shameful and Wrong - Plymouth Liberal Democrats

Plymouth Liberal Democrats declared last year that we opposed the proposed felling of trees on Armada Way and joined those calling for the trees to be saved.

What we did not know then, and what we discovered a few days ago, was the disgraceful way in which the council would go about carrying out their plans. Giving barely any notice at all before sending in heavy machinery under the cloak of darkness to rip up over 100 trees was shameful, as many in the national and local media have noted.

I was there on the Tuesday evening. I went to Armada Way as soon as I heard what was happening. It was heartbreaking to witness, and I am so grateful to those who managed to secure the injunction that halted the environmental carnage before every last tree had been ripped up.

The "Plymouth Chainsaw Massacre", as the Daily Telegraph called it on their front page, was, according to an editorial in the Times, "misguided and sinister". They weren't wrong.

Let's be clear: our city centre needs a refresh. But that has to be designed and planned and implemented with local people, not imposed on them in the face of deep opposition. That opposition was illustrated with the outcome of the recent public consultation on the Armada Way plans - the results of which seem to have been ignored by those running the council.

Some people support the plans. Some local Lib Dems no doubt support the plans, even though the local party strongly opposes them. But surely we can all agree that a democratic body like a local council can't just bulldoze its will onto local people.

On 4 May, there will be elections to the city council here in Plymouth. Voters will get the chance to elect a new councillor for their area. We would encourage voters to take part in the elections, to remove from the council those who have failed to stop this, and to put some new faces and voices into the council chamber.

Hugh Janes

Honorary President, Plymouth Liberal Democrats