Council defends spending £92,000 on stopping protesters climbing tree

A council has defended spending £92,000 of taxpayer’s money on stopping environmental protesters going near a tree.

The plane tree, in Stroud Green, north London, was at the centre of a legal battle with insurance company Allianz who claimed it was causing subsidence to two nearby houses.

After Haringey Council's move to cut the tree down in April 2022 was thwarted by activists, it took environmental group Haringey Tree Protectors (HTP) to court in December to gain possession of it.

When the hearing was adjourned until 15 March, local residents were "shocked and stunned" to be woken at 4.30am on 12 March as the council took "possession" of the tree with security guards and scaffolding.

The council claimed that the protesters had prepared to occupy the tree, leaving them forced to take action, but it was never able to provide any proof.

Security guards continued to man the tree 24 hours a day for more than a month as the council battled a high court injunction with Andrew Brenner, whose house was one of the ones affected.

Brenner’s house has been affected by subsidence but he is contesting his own insurance company’s view that the tree is to blame.

Haringey Council settled out of court earlier this month and a subsequent Freedom of Information request has revealed that the council spent £92,000 occupying the tree.

A council spokesperson blamed the activists and Brenner for costs incurred.

They said the cost was “a result of the direct action taken by protestors”, who had twice prevented the council from felling the tree.

They added that the Council’s possession order granted in December 2022 had “a legal duty” to secure possession to prevent unauthorised occupation, and protect anyone putting themselves at risk of injury.

The council said its original cost estimate of £45,000 doubled when the court allowed Brenner to appeal its injunction.

But it said the £92,000 was "proportionate" given that another local authority recently paid £300,000 to remove protestors from a tree.

Jo Syz, from Haringey Tree Protectors, said HTP had not occupied the tree since the court process began as "they were respecting the due process of law".

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She said: "At the time that Haringey Council took physical possession of the tree with scaffolding and securing guards, the granting of their injunction against protest at the tree was imminent. The penalties for breaking this would be profound.

"However, if anyone decided to break the injunction, it already included the power of arrest so any protestors occupying the tree would be able to be removed without great further expense.

"If the council had considered what the local community requested all along, and waited to make a decision about the tree until after the ombudsman's ruling, this whole process could have been thwarted."

Brenner is awaiting a financial ombudsman report on whether the tree or the clay soil is the cause of the subsidence.