Restaurant owners apologise for cutting down 80 trees

The owners of The Osprey restaurant in East Kilbride chopped down dozens of the trees last week
- Published
The owners of a South Lanarkshire restaurant have apologised after they cut down about 80 trees near the eatery to "open up space".
The Osprey in East Kilbride chopped down dozens of trees last week - including an oak - prompting scores of complaints on their social media accounts.
Public body Scottish Forestry have now launched an investigation into the incident, as no felling permission had been sought for the work.
The Birk family, who took over the venue earlier this year, said they had "got it wrong" and that they intended to replant young trees to replace those cut down.
The restaurant is currently closed for refurbishment, after the Birk family purchased it from former owners Carrigans.
After photos were shared of the tree stumps, users on social media labelled it a "thoughtless act" and called the move vandalism.
Other posts called for a boycott of the eatery when it opens.
However the trees were not protected by a preservation order, meaning the restaurateurs were not obliged to seek permission from the local council.
In an online statement, external the Osprey owners wrote: "We're sorry we got this wrong. We have to hold up our hands and say we made a mistake in clearing the wooded area in front of the restaurant.
"The intention was to open up the space at the front and possibly extend the car park in future.
"There were no tree preservation orders and the restaurant is not in a conservation area but we know this is not an excuse for the insensitive call to take away the trees.
The owners added: "We have spoken with planning and with (Scottish) Forestry who are coming back to us, and apologise unreservedly for any errors in procedure."
They also said that they would be happy to work with local conservation and heritage enthusiasts and organisations in the future.

Some locals complained and called the move vandalism after it was revealed last week
A number of online comments expressed support for the family after their apology, saying they deserved another chance after the mistake.
East Kilbride MSP Collette Stevenson said she had asked both the chief executive of South Lanarkshire Council and the owners of The Osprey to clarify who instructed the works and if permission had been sought beforehand.
South Lanarkshire Council said it had received a number of inquiries about the trees.
Fraser Carlin, head of planning at South Lanarkshire Council, said: "I can confirm that the trees were not the subject of tree preservation orders and so no permission was needed or granted.
"However, we can advise that in some instances felling permission may be required from Scottish Forestry."
A Scottish Forestry spokesman said: "We take all reports of alleged unauthorised felling very seriously.
"There is no felling permission in place for this work so we have now opened up an investigation and today visited the site for inspection.
"Now that an investigation has been opened it would not be appropriate to comment further on this case until it is concluded and next steps decided."
Related topics
- Published26 September
- Published19 September