Diseased Newark tree to be felled despite long-running campaign

A tree saved from being cut down will have to be felled after it was found to be diseased.

The false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) is one of four in Newark that were due to be chopped by Newark and Sherwood District Council to make way for a car park extension.

The council reversed the decision in November after discussions with a developer.

Campaigners said the news came as "a huge shock".

"We've had it checked by our tree surgeon who said it was dangerous and it could blow over," Jenni Harding, from Protect Newark's Green Spaces, said.

"A lot of people will be upset and emotional, it will be very hard."

The original plan to fell the trees followed a legally-binding agreement between the council and landowner in 2019, committing them to the car park extension.

But the council then announced a deal had been struck with the landowner to save the trees.

Campaigners have told the Local Democracy Reporting Service they hope to plant a new oak tree to replace the false acacia.

Pamela Ball, from the Friends of Newark Library Gardens group, said discussions with the council on rewilding the area had been "really encouraging".

"We'd like to have environmental lessons there and small theatre groups can use the space," she said.

"It's a polar opposite to what it would've been... it is a dream a lot of us have had for quite a while."

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