Council will not intervene after tree-felling row

Police were called to the protest in Meir Park, off Canberra Crescent, on Friday afternoon after the council said the trees were to be felled

Planning bosses say they will not intervene in a protest that led to police being called after trees were felled in Stoke-on-Trent.

Officers went to Meir Park, off Canberra Crescent, on Friday, after a crowd gathered to object to a number of mature trees that were being chopped down.

Staffordshire Police said a group was trying to stop the felling operation by a team from a gardening business, as arranged by the landowner.

Protesters said the land the trees were on had been sold off by the council, but they did not know who the owner of the now private land was.

Councillor Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing and planning, said he understood how emotive the situation was for residents and he did not want to see trees cut down unnecessarily.

However, he said that as the land was privately owned the owner was entitled to fell them.

None of the trees that were felled were covered by a tree protection order or located within a conservation area, Mr Robinson added.

“As the circumstances are clear, no elements of the incident are controlled or regulated through planning, the planning authority is unable to assist with any enforcement and this is now considered a civil matter,” he said.

Denise Hughes, who has lived nearby since the 1980s, told BBC Radio Stoke she was angry and upset.

"It's absolutely dreadful, because we’ve got such a nice wildlife section," she said. "You see foxes at night, there's bats flying around, there’s birds and everything."

Alison Dhatt has lived opposite the green for more than 30 years and said she believed the trees were being cut to make way for houses.

The BBC has been unable to identify the owner of the land.