Tree axe ban keeps residents in dark

Sarah Marshall

ANGRY residents forced to live in the dark because of a huge tree which blocks out the light say they are shocked Stafford councillors agreed to ban it from being chopped.

TreeCampaigners have accused the borough council of putting trees before people after a preservation order was slapped on a sycamore, which towers above flats in Penkvale Road.

Resident John Adams says he has sky-high electric bills as he has to keep his lights on all day when the tree is in full leaf.

And neighbour Dorothy Shutt has complained of similar problems with the sycamore which is in the back garden of a house in Rickerscote Road.

The residents, backed by borough councillor Trish Rowlands and Stafford and Rural Homes, gave their views at a public appeals committee in a bid to get the council to reconsider.

But despite their pleas Stafford Borough Council pressed ahead with the order, with the authority's arboriculturalist stating that it "would not affect the good management of trees".

It now means that the owner of the tree will have to apply for permission to do any pruning.

Mr Adams' father-in-law John Francis, a borough councillor himself, has vowed to continue the fight. He has already contacted Stafford MP David Kidney and plans to consult a solicitor about fighting it in the High Court.

Mr Adams told the Newsletter this week: "When the tree is in full bloom in the summer months my flat is so dark I have to have the lights on all day.

"My electricity bills are high because of it and I'm a pensioner with a limited amount of money. It is a miserable thing to put up with."

Councillor Rowlands said: "I am extremely angry because preserving this tree is also preserving the intolerable conditions the tenants in Penkvale Rood have to endure."

And Councillor Francis added: "It's not right. This is effectively putting trees before people. We plan to fight this decision."