Newthorpe resident fears more than 40 trees could be chopped down on green space

Peter Pounder, of Thorn Drive, said he has walked along a footpath behind the road and “more than 40 trees appear to have been marked for removal”.

He said: “We’ve been having trouble for years with flooding in Newthorpe and the land these trees are on has been allocated for flood alleviation.

“Workers came along to clear space along the footpath that runs along there, strimming vegetation and clearing it up. The thing is, Broxtowe Council wants to realign the footpath back along its original route – it’s got diverted somehow over the years – but when I walked along there the other day, I saw at least 40 trees marked to be cut down.

“Well, tthey’re not meant to be cut down, we residents don’t want them cutting down.”

The council said removing trees was “not something it took lightly” and only “dead, diseased or dangerous” trees would be felled.

Mr Pounder said the residents’ flooding group had contacted Broxtowe MP Darren Henry, the council and Severn Trent about setting up a meeting – potentially later this month – about using the land for flood alleviation measures.

And he said it had been agreed no trees would be cut down until all parties had agreed a plan.

He said: “Some of them are saplings and we can understand some will need to removed to create space for where the footpath is supposedly going to be re-routed to. Personally, I don’t know why that can’t just leave path as it is now, as it’s perfectly adequate.

“Some of the trees have been up there 20 or 30 years and are massive and we don’t want them cutting down.

"New homes are being built at the top of the field and we thought part of those plans was to sort out this flood alleviation, but we’ve emailed the council and no-one wants to talk to us.

"We’re pulling our hair out trying to get some answers and we’re hoping this meeting with Mr Henry and others, when it happens, will do that. But until then, we don’t know what’s happening.

"I’ve read that there’s going to be eco festival in Eastwood on September 23, encouraging us all to live greener and protect the environment and green spaces. Well this seems to be going against everything that festival is trying to teach us.”

A council spokesman said: “These trees are part of a plot of land which is due to be handed back to the council under a Section 106 planning agreement.

“Unfortunately, the land has not been maintained for a number of years and after assessing a large number of self-set trees on site, we have found some are in a poor condition and need to be removed.

“There is also a public right of way on site, which is not currently safe and needs to be improved to meet required standards.

“Making the decision to remove trees is not something which the council takes lightly and we only remove those which are dead, diseased or dangerous.

“Once the land is in a manageable state and under the ownership of the council, we will look to plant new trees and enhance the biodiversity of the site.”