Watch as landmark Derbyshire tree is chopped down –  as Parish Council said tree removal should have been 'last resort'

Matlock residents have been left heartbroken after they found out the landmark tree growing at the road side of the river between a fish and chips bar and a retail shop had been chopped down.

The tree, which was privately owned and subject to a Derbyshire Dales District Council Tree Preservation Order, was cut down due to concerns about potential damage to the retaining wall above the river and flood risk to the A6.

Matlock Bath Parish Council commented on the application to chop down the tree and suggested that Derbyshire Dales District Council gathered more evidence before allowing the applicant to cut it down.

They said: “The importance of this tree in Matlock Bath is huge and its removal should be only considered as a last resort. DDDC has a duty to check the whole situation and not simply follow what we consider could be the unbalanced opinions of the application. The application could have a different agenda as evidenced in the previous TPO trimming applications, it wants to protect the customer terrace, not the tree.

"The tree is not so deep-rooted that the roots extend to the water level. The minor lean to the face is localised and only affects the high areas of the wall. The A6 is 18 metres away from the tree, the wall damage is three metres down from the roadside. To suggest that the A6 is at risk from the tree falling again could be construed as unfounded and alarmist.

"We understand the tree is healthy, despite years of pruning which has entirely caused the existing leaning issues. Previous applications to cut branches without the necessary balancing of the tree on its base have caused the tree to lean. This was permitted by DDDC so must have been permitted after careful consideration. The fact that years of pruning caused it to lean proves that careful pruning of the opposite side will bring it back into balance. This must be a first consideration.

"The arboricultural report speculates that engineered support would not be possible. This is not true. A steel cantilevered structure can very easily be built that is laid under the terrace of the chip shop and holds the necessary branches and trunk. With all due respect to the arboriculturist, he should not be commenting on steel work structural engineering. None of the structures would have piers loading vertically into the river.

"The structural engineer’s report states that they have not looked at the structure of the retaining wall. Their opinion that the wall is moving assumes that the wall is not robust enough. A simple google of the road widening improvements shows images and reports of heavy sheet piling and reinforced concrete behind the dressed stone facing. Had the wall been of a lesser construction then its stability and resistance to the tree loading may have been worth considering.

“There are so many incomplete elements to this application that you can only refuse and ask for further information.”

Derbyshire County Council said as the highways authority and they had responded that it would be ‘preferable if the tree could be pruned rather than felled to manage the risk as it was a significant amenity in the local area.’

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “While we had suggested pruning the tree may be a solution, our final recommendation to the council was that if the tree was in our ownership we would remove it as we could see it was damaging the wall significantly. We also advised that every effort should be made to protect the riverbank walls because of recent flooding in the Derbyshire Dales. We apologise for our initial error around the final advice given and any confusion this may have caused.”

A spokesman for Derbyshire Dales District Council, which made the decision to grant permission to fell the tree, said: “We issued consent following an application from the private landowner, taking into account the condition of the tree and the damage that was being caused to the river wall. Consent is conditional on planting a replacement tree (a Yoshino Cherry).”