Extinction Rebellion protesters fail to stop 600-year-old oak tree being chopped down

Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters who were protecting a 600-year-old oak tree have been removed as work began to cut it down.

XR activists, backed by some local residents, had formed a 24-hour guard around the ancient oak, which forms part of Grimeshaw Wood, in Cambridgeshire.

One of the protesters had camped in the tree for two nights in a hammock.

But 25 police officers on Wednesday swooped on the activists, so that work could begin to start felling the oak.

It is the last tree left standing in Blind Lane, but Peterborough City Council decided it must be removed because its roots are said to be causing structural damage to nearby houses.

Ollie Bullen, 28, an XR activist who protested below the tree, said on Wednesday: “The council issued an order today to make the land around the tree private.

“That allowed them to move security and police in to block public access to the highway.

“This morning we were on the site and managed to hold out for five hours before we were issued with a warning of arrest and forced to move.”

Ed Murphy, a local resident, said: “People are furious and desperate to save this 600-year-old tree.

“It hasn’t been proven to cause any damage to other houses.

“We need a High Court injunction but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

On Wednesday, protesters lost a legal bid to save the tree when a county court judge decided he did not have the jurisdiction to make a ruling on the case.

Richard Elmer, who lives in the road where the tree is located, said his area was being “decimated”.

He said: “It’s gone from Center Parcs to a warzone. Enough is enough.

“This is the last remaining tree and this council now - in this environmentally-aware world that we live in - describe this ancient tree as a ‘nuisance’ and want to fell it as a precaution.

“If you said that any tree, near any house, could potentially create damage, you’re going to fell thousands of trees across the country.”

Nigel Simons, who has responsibility for the council’s environmental policy, said earlier: “We will be going ahead with the felling and ask those at the scene to respect our decision – we especially ask that they do not put themselves in danger – and to think carefully before doing anything illegal.”

He added that it was a “difficult decision” to fell the tree.

“We understand the point of view of some residents, it is a beautiful tree and we would not be doing this if we did not have to. All options to save the tree could have cost the council hundreds of thousands of pounds in repairs and legal fees.

“This would have meant we had no money to plant additional trees in our city or maintain our existing tree stock.”