Families demand tree-felling ban on Stoke-on-Trent estate

Jonathan Sutton
·2-min read
Residents Steve Goold, Alison Dhatt and Andy Jones protest the tree felling
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Dozens of residents are calling for a blanket ban on more trees being felled on their estate. Oak, willow, and ash trees have been a feature of the Meir Park estate for more than 40 years.

But Staffordshire Police were called in earlier this year when trees started being felled on land off Canberra Crescent. It transpired that no tree protection order is in place to stop the felling of the trees on the privately-owned patches of land dotted around the estate.

Now campaigners are preparing to submit a petition to Stoke-on-Trent City Council by the end of November. It has so far been signed by around 200 residents and calls for the Canberra Crescent site to remain undeveloped.

READ MORE: Homeowner out of pocket after police dispute over £7k fence damage

READ MORE: Car left on roof after three-vehicle Staffordshire smash

READ: Council issues statement after landowner and residents clash in tree-felling row - Police were called to the Meir Park oasis

READ: 'Absolute shame' - Protesting Meir Park residents hit out as trees chopped down - Concerns have been raised the plot could be used for housing

It comes as the Forestry Commission is continuing to investigate residents' concerns.

The felled trees on Canberra Crescent
The felled trees on Canberra Crescent

Petition organiser Alison Dhatt said: “For us as a community in Meir Park we don’t want any development on that land. We feel it’s right in the middle of the estate. The green land there was used for communal purposes, dog walking, children playing, and people just enjoying the area. We feel like if that area was developed it would cause a lot more traffic on the bottom end of Meir Park and we just feel like it would just be an over-development of the area.

“Meir Park is already a big estate, with quite a lot of traffic and congestion anyway. The petition really is to say as a community we don’t want that area built on.

"Residents' mental well-being is enhanced by accessing this area and we want this area to remain development-free and to remain open access to residents which it has been for four decades. There are enough houses on Meir Park and this area is well known for its green areas accessible to the community and we, as residents, want it to remain so."

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is not commenting ahead of the submission of the petition. Anybody who wants to sign the petition can do so here.

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