Council sets provisional date to fell lime trees

Protests have previously disrupted work to remove the lime trees

Three mature lime trees are due to be cut down despite community objections, a council has said.

Cornwall Council said work to remove the trees on Trelawney Road in Falmouth would provisionally begin on 8 December after previous attempts to cut down the trees were delayed by protests.

The authority said it was "legally required" to remove the trees and it would replace them with four new ones.

Campaigners from Stop the Chop have argued the council was acting unlawfully by removing them as it had failed to properly consult the community.

The council said a public meeting would be held prior to the work to discuss it and answer questions.

Councillor Dan Rogerson, the council's portfolio holder for transport, urged people to respect a cordon to allow work to be carried out safely.

Works at the site had to be cancelled in March 2025 following an intervention from police.

Rogerson said: "We know that people will be saddened to see the trees taken down.

"We are legally required to remove the trees, and I urge everyone to respect the cordon and allow the staff to work safely.

"The team have taken great care selecting the new trees and planting them now means we can give them the best chance possible."

The council said it was planting four new trees in place of the lime trees

Debs Newman, from Stop the Chop, said the council should call off the works.

"As it stands Cornwall Council will be acting unlawfully if they go ahead and fell the trees," she said.

"Every local authority is now obliged by law to conduct what is known as a duty to consult.

"They have failed pretty much at every turn to meet the requirements of the legislation."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service last week, Rogerson has said the council does not accept its consultation was legally non-compliant.

The public meeting over the works is due to be held at 18:00 GMT on Wednesday in the Atherton Suite of Falmouth Town Council Offices.