Islington Council chopped down eight trees on Monday despite a protest by residents, as it became clear the grassroots campaign was no match for commercial developers.
The trees, on Lennox Road and Clifton Terrace in Finsbury Park, were hacked down to make way for student accommodation after an application by developers Spiritbond and Watkin Jones.
The council was initially hostile towards the developers’ application for the trees to be removed but later backed down. Developers have agreed to pay £100,000, which will be used to plant new trees, according to Jeremy Corbyn MP.
Just ten people showed up on Monday morning to protest against the council’s actions.
Myka Baum, from the SaveTheTrees8 campaign, said: “The felling was shockingly fast. Three hours to cut down eight 40-year-old trees.
“I wasn’t the only tearful person. An upset neighbour told me that his daughter asked him this morning where the birds would now go to live.”
She put the low turnout down to it being a Monday morning when most people are on their way to work.
“Other people wanted to join but expected this to take one to two days and were shocked when it was all over.”
Caroline Russell, an Islington Green Party campaigner, was one of those protesting as the trees were removed. She had been determined not to let the plans go ahead. “There were more security guards than they were of us – what were they frightened of?” she asked.
Before the felling an online petition to Jeremy Corbyn MP created by the SaveTheTrees8 campaign, garnered over 200 signatures.
On Monday 10 March, outraged residents had even bound the trees with tape that read ‘future crime scene’. Ms Russell said: “Trees do matter. It may seem like a small thing but it has a big impact on people’s daily wellbeing.
“They provide shade and suck up huge amounts of water. Finsbury Park is polluted – It’s a busy transport hub – and those trees were cleaning that up. It’s also about the way they lift people’s spirits – they’re good for people’s health and wellbeing. Islington is the borough with the least green space in London.”
Ms Russell lays much of the blame on the neighbouring John Jones site, which sold the land to developers. “When the a landowner sells it to a developer knowing they’re going to be able to extract maximum value from it, they’re responsible.
“The community is going to have to put up with years of noise, dust and construction danger. We’re not even gaining a huge number of extra social or affordable homes.”
But her main grievance is with the government. “It has made local government impotent to protect community assets. Local councillors had no power to protect those trees,” she said.
Jeremy Corbyn MP said in a statement: “Once the Council knew the development would go ahead they negotiated hard over the trees. The developers have to hand over a massive £100,000 that will be used to plant new trees in the area.”
The trees – amounting to a greater number than there were before – will be planted in consultation with residents when the John Jones building works are complete, which is likely to be in 2015.
