2024-12-19 12:25:45 +0000
To: Cr Jonathan Pryor, Colin Campbell, Ryk Downes, Sandy lay, Leeds City Council. MP Katie White.
Save the Otley Tittybottle Oak Tree
To stop the felling of trees in Tittybottle Park Otley, a conservation area, to make way for a temporary footbridge.
The two trees at risk at the moment are an 180 year old oak tree, and the second tree is a Tulip tree.
Why is this important?
The residents of Otley are trying to halt the unnecessary felling of trees in Tittybottle park in Otley. One of the trees at risk is a 180 year old Oak tree, another is a large Tulip tree.
The trees are due to be felled in order for a large crane to access the site to erect a temporary footbridge over the River Wharfe, during repair work on the old medieval bridge. This temporary bridge is due to cost in the region of £2m. (Repair work is due to cost £1m)
Due consideration has not been given to these trees during the design process of this temporary bridge. With some careful design these trees could be saved, for example if the bridge was constructed in sections and fed out over the river, then the crane access would not be required. This also presents an opportunity to design a footbridge that remains accessible even in the event of a flood.
The environmental impact of losing these trees, that sit on a flood plain beside the river Wharfe, would be devastating. The river bank would become less stable, the thousands of species of insects and animals living within these trees and their roots would lose their habitat, and we would lose the most effective carbon capture factories on Earth.
We cannot casually accept the loss of oaks without also accepting the loss of thousands of other plants and animals that depend on them, oak declines in the UK threaten the survival of 2300 other species of plants and animals. (Mitchell RJ et al 2019, collapsing foundations: The ecology of the British oak, implications of its decline and mitigation options. Biological conservation 233:316-317.)
We must stop thinking ‘It’s just one tree’ this situation is being repeated too often around the world, we are in the middle of an environmental collapse. Please sign this petition to help stop the felling of these beautiful trees.
The trees are due to be felled in order for a large crane to access the site to erect a temporary footbridge over the River Wharfe, during repair work on the old medieval bridge. This temporary bridge is due to cost in the region of £2m. (Repair work is due to cost £1m)
Due consideration has not been given to these trees during the design process of this temporary bridge. With some careful design these trees could be saved, for example if the bridge was constructed in sections and fed out over the river, then the crane access would not be required. This also presents an opportunity to design a footbridge that remains accessible even in the event of a flood.
The environmental impact of losing these trees, that sit on a flood plain beside the river Wharfe, would be devastating. The river bank would become less stable, the thousands of species of insects and animals living within these trees and their roots would lose their habitat, and we would lose the most effective carbon capture factories on Earth.
We cannot casually accept the loss of oaks without also accepting the loss of thousands of other plants and animals that depend on them, oak declines in the UK threaten the survival of 2300 other species of plants and animals. (Mitchell RJ et al 2019, collapsing foundations: The ecology of the British oak, implications of its decline and mitigation options. Biological conservation 233:316-317.)
We must stop thinking ‘It’s just one tree’ this situation is being repeated too often around the world, we are in the middle of an environmental collapse. Please sign this petition to help stop the felling of these beautiful trees.
