Plymouth trees: Clearance work is a chance to move forward, leader says

23 September 2023

Charlotte CoxBBC News

News image — On Thursday, a team of workers began clearing tree stumps and piles of trees at the site

Plymouth City Council Armada Way in Plymouth — On Thursday, a team of workers began clearing tree stumps and piles of trees at the site

Trees and stumps being cleared from a site at the centre of a contentious redevelopment was a chance to "move forward", a council leader has said.

The reopening of Plymouth's Armada Way comes six months after the city council first cut down 110 trees in March.

The move sparked calls for an independent inquiry and a High Court injunction halted the project, with 20 trees eventually being saved.

Tudor Evans said the "awful mess" had "blighted" the city for too long.

The executive order to cut down the trees as part of a £12.7m regeneration project was signed by the former Conservative leader of the council, Richard Bingley.

Mr Bingley resigned from his role in March and Labour took control of the council following May's local elections.

On Thursday, a team of workers began clearing tree stumps and piles of trees at the site.

The council said the work there, which also including mowing grass and litter picking, was expected to continue throughout the weekend.

Plymouth city centre — Plymouth City Council cut down the trees on Armada Way in the early hours of 15 March

A representative said larger trunks would be kept in storage for potential reuse and chippings would be used in "parks and allotments".

They said the tree stacks were checked for live and nesting birds before the work commenced and the remaining trees covered by the legal injunction would continue to be protected.

Mr Evans said it was a chance to draw a line under what had happened.

"The trees have gone. Let's move forward," he said.

"Finally we got there in the end.

"For too many months, the city has been blighted with this awful mess."

He thanked businesses and residents for their patience, and staff and contractors for their work and said proposals for the site's future would be published in the next few weeks.

"We want as many people as possible to have their say and I look forward to hearing everyone's views on the proposed design," he added.

Mr Evans has previously declined to comment on a pending judicial review, the unsuccessful applications to have it thrown out, or the cost of legal fees so far.