Coastline responds to 'heartbroken' residents' claims of tree damage

A beloved tree which has stood on a residential street in Helston for more than 50 years is at the centre of a dispute between residents and Coastline House.

Residents allege that the tree on Trelawney Road was damaged during construction work last year, while Coastline maintains that any impact was minimal.

Sally Ann Pethick, a Trelawney Road resident, described the tree as a "beautiful old tree" and said she is "heartbroken" to see it suffer.

She claims the tree was damaged last August when Coastline began work on a nearby development. She alleged that the company's activities, including unloading materials and using heavy machinery, caused significant harm to the tree.

Sally said she is 'heartbroken' following alleged damage to the tree (Image: NQ)

"The workers woke me up one morning when they were offloading their materials. There was a bump, and the tree shook," Sally said.

Following the incident, Sally claims she made numerous attempts to address the issue with Coastline but received no support. "They've just fobbed me off, it's breaking my heart," she said.

Along with her daughter, Hailey-Houlden Smith, Sally also contacted Cornwall Council, hoping for their intervention. However, the council informed them that as the tree was not on council land, they were unable to act directly.

The tree has stood on Trelawney Road for more than 50 years (Image: Hailey Houlden-Smith)

While Coastline acknowledges that a small branch was broken during a delivery, they maintain that the overall impact on the tree was minimal.

"Coastline used the site last year as it was the only available storage area for nearby roofing works," said a Coastline spokesperson.

"Containers and materials were placed with consideration for the tree's canopy and roots. While a small branch was unfortunately broken during delivery, this would not have affected the rest of the tree."

"Coastline staff visited the site on Monday morning and saw no clear damage to the roots. We have now asked a specialist tree surveyor to complete an assessment for us and will act on their findings, if needed, to try and ensure the tree remains in Trelawney Road."