Haverhill resident dismayed at council decision to remove tree in nesting season

West Suffolk Council has justified its decision to cut down a tree after coming under fire for carrying out the work while birds are nesting.

The council had been criticised by Kathy Ansell for cutting down one of the trees opposite her home in Gainsborough Road in Haverhill.

Mrs Ansell was dismayed that the work was being done during nesting season and worried about the impact it was having on those nesting birds, which include woodpeckers and wrens.

She said: “I thought what are they doing that for now. They could have done that in January or in winter time before the birds started nesting.

“When I first arrived here 20-odd years ago I used to get thrushes and then they disappeared and last year they started coming back and I thought why do it now. I am so angry.”

Mrs Ansell, who works in the finance department at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, said she had not heard a woodpecker song since the tree was cut down.

She added: “I can understand the need to cut them down when they are dead because I don’t want them to fall down on my house but there is a time to do it and this is not the time.”

A council spokesperson said: “The tree was a relatively small alder, found to be in poor condition and poorly established, due to the density of trees planted in that particular area.

“It was removed to benefit the adjacent trees which will make stronger long term specimens.

“Where there are active nests or where it is not possible to confirm no nests are present (for example in dense foliage), tree works are not carried out during the bird nesting season.

“However given the open nature of this tree and the lack of leaves it was easy for our tree surgeons to establish that the tree was nest free.

“The tree was one of a number of works identified during the previous cyclical inspection of the area.

“Others of those works can’t be completed due to nesting (for example in dense hedgerows), and the tree team have been completing what can go ahead.

“Our tree officer has spoken to the lady to address her questions about the tree.”