St Marks elm trees: Felling on hold after alternative option found

A plan to fell 25 elms on the Isle of Man has been put on hold after an alternative option was identified, the government has said.

The scheme would have seen the trees removed in St Marks to improve safety.

A campaign to save them was supported by BBC presenter and naturalist Chris Packham, who wrote to the chairman of the planning committee to object.

The government said the fellings would no longer go ahead, providing a new proposal was passed by planners.

The trees were due to be removed to create safer access to properties on Braaid Road, but, while no objections were lodged prior to the approval, the plan was later condemned by Manx National Heritage (MNH) and conservationists.

MNH director Edmund Southworth called for aspects of the planning system to be "reviewed as a matter of urgency" as a result of the case, adding that he hoped it would be "a catalyst" in changing the way the environment was considered in future applications.

An online petition which called for the plans to be scrapped was signed by 50,000 people.

A government spokesman said that following discussions with the landowner, an alternative option had been identified and the trees would not now be removed as long as new scheme was approved.

He said the plans came about over concerns about safety at junctions on to the road and an alternative access point had now been identified.

If the new plans were approved, the landowner would "relinquish the existing planning approval" and legally abandon the right to fell the trees, he added.

That documentation is expected to be submitted within the next three months.

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