To: Trafford Council

Trafford Council: Stop destroying healthy trees!

We demand that Trafford Council:

(1) Urgently reviews its tree policy and pledges to keep healthy trees in place, unless they are demonstrably dangerous.
(2) Reinstates the page on their website which outlines The Benefits of Trees.

KEEP TRAFFORD GREEN!

Why is this important?

E-petition: Save 1,500 healthy trees in Trafford

Trafford Council plans to destroy 1500 healthy, mature trees at a cost of £1500 each. Here is the proof: http://snipurl.com/277kq1q (perhaps predictably, this page no longer exists, but we do have the original document if anyone wishes to see it.)

And after local campaigners referred to a page on the Council’s website called The Benefits of Trees, the Council swiftly removed it from their website.

We, the undersigned, believe that this is a terrible waste of £2.25 million of public money, destroying trees at a time when the nation’s nature and wildlife is suffering due to our lack of care as a society, and because of short-sighted policies such as this.

Trees add value to our homes and neighbourhoods, provide habitat for birds and insects, and it is proven that they increase our health and wellbeing. They also provide valuable protection from pollution - protection that cannot be achieved by tiny saplings.

Therefore, we demand that Trafford Council:

(1) Urgently reviews its tree policy and pledges to keep healthy trees in place, unless they are demonstrably dangerous.
(2) Reinstates the page on their website which outlines The Benefits of Trees.

Relevant links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/21/uk-species-struggling-wildlife

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/22609000

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22671186

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/21/trees-linked-with-human-h_n_2505267.html

http://www.keeptraffordgreenandclean.co.uk/trafford-council-the-benefits-of-trees/

LATEST NEWS [8th June 2013]: The Council have been asked about this by a reporter from the Stretford & Urmston Advertiser and are denying that they want to chop down 1,500 trees. Here is the link to the document which gives that figure and which also states that it costs £1,500 per destroyed tree:
http://snipurl.com/277kq1q

Let's see how long THAT document remains in place! We have downloaded a copy just in case... (it's entitled "Trafford Council Tree Management Policy")

Trafford, United Kingdom

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