The tree at the centre of Yorkshire gets to leaf another day.
Plans to chop the oak in the middle of the Eye of York have been axed after feedback showed the public wanted it to be saved.
Four options for upgrading the space enclosed by the crown court, Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower were put forward as part of the My Castle Gateway project.
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Two of the options would have seen the tree uprooted.
City of York Council’s preferred choice was to see the tree removed, the area landscaped with shrubs, grass, seating and a concrete areas for events.
But this hasn’t found favour with the public. “Feedback on these designs was strongly in favour of retaining the existing oak tree, and this option will now be developed in detail as part of the planning application to be submitted in the autumn,” the council said today.
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According to a blog post, these are the some of the reasons why people want to retain the tree:
- It is a mature oak tree, it has been growing for 40 years and it should be valued
- CYC are allowing too many mature trees to be taken down through the planning process. Where they are required to be replaced, size/species/etc are often not specified, or where they are the applicant usually substitutes something smaller/cheaper and this is not prevented.
- Trees are often removed simply because they haven’t been maintained when they should have – the alders outside the Wetherspoons being a nearby example.
- The tree has been neglected but could be re-shaped so that there is more light to the ground beneath and less interruption of the views. A number of people have noted the harm being done by the carousel van parking right next to the trunk.
- The tree was planted to commemorate 15 years of Alex Lyon as York MP – and this should be remembered and respected
- It provides shade and can contribute towards cooling the area, in the context of climate change
- It has become part of people’s memories of the area (e.g. the end of Blood + Cholate) and light up at Christmas or for Pride.
- The Open Brief to use the area for performance and exhibitions, with ‘more imagination’ the tree could be worked around.
“We have always been fully committed to putting the views of local residents at the heart of shaping these future plans,” said Cllr Nigel Ayre.
“Having listened to the views of everyone who took part in the consultation, the designs for the Eye of York will focus on retaining and celebrating the existing oak tree.”