Residents attack city council over felled tree in Oxford

The Iffley Fields Residents Association (IFRA) is calling for a replacement after the copper beech tree, which stood on Iffley Road at the junction with Howard Street, was chopped down earlier this month.

A spokesperson for Oxford City Council said the tree was dying and had become a hazard to the public.

However, Jon Rees, chair of IFRA, said examination of the stump found ‘no sign of major structural defect’ despite the presence of some fungus.

IFRA is demanding the council replace the tree within six months, with the planting of a ‘semi-mature specimen tree’.

Residents have hit out at Oxford City Council after a tree was felled in Iffley. Picture: Ali Junior

Oxford resident Christine Norris said: “The beautiful copper beech that stood on that corner for at least 76 years was a part of my childhood growing up in Howard Street.

“There’s a strong desire for it to be replaced quickly, so the stump isn’t left like an open wound.”

Merry Cave, 85, added: “It’s downright vandalism. It’s like killing a human being.”

Oxford city councillor Dick Wolff claims Oxford Direct Services had shared concerns about the tree but didn’t say it would destroy it.

He added: “The council publishes weekly lists of forthcoming tree works, but this felling was never listed despite the enormous impact on the street view in a conservation area.

“This is a worrying failure, given the strong public resistance to the felling of a large lime tree 300 metres away earlier in the year.”

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Flowers and messages have been left on the tree stump, with one note saying ‘destroyed by Oxford City Council’.

The city council spokesperson said fungi around the base of the tree had caused decay and that over recent years, the crown of the tree – the branches and leaves – had been thinning.

The spokesperson said: “This thinning showed that the tree was under a large amount of stress and, alongside the fungi, it is likely that the root system was physiologically and structurally dysfunctional.

“Our expert arboriculturalists have been monitoring the tree over the last three years, but the thinning and decay had been getting worse.

“Sadly, the tree was dying and – with its location next to buildings and on a busy junction for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians – it had become a hazard to the public.

“The stump will now be excavated to see if the pit is suitable for replanting.”

According to the spokesperson, Oxford has 248,200 trees – nearly two per person in the city.

The city council planted 2,000 trees across Oxford alongside community groups in November and planted a further 1,200 in January.