Judge says lime trees should not have been felled

There has been a long-running campaign to save the trees in Wellingborough

A High Court judge has ruled that work to fell an avenue of ancient trees should not have taken place.

Sixteen of around 50 lime trees on The Walks in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire were cut down as part of the Stanton Cross development.

The case against the council was brought by the Wellingborough Walks Action Group (WWAG).

Deputy High Court Judge Dan Kolinsky KC said the council's approach that the work was authorised was "incorrect".

Campaigners attended the hearing at the High Court earlier this month

Approval for the development was first granted in 2008 by the Borough Council of Wellingborough, with the avenue to be cleared to make way for a dual carriageway.

Sixteen of the trees were cut down in February 2023 before protesters blocked contractors from continuing their work – which was later paused in March 2023 ahead of legal proceedings.

Judge Kolinsky said in his judgement that he rejected the developer’s "contentions that no further approval was needed for the felling of protected trees".

He said the developer should have submitted a fresh application for the felling of the trees, which it did last month.

The judge said it would now be up to North Northamptonshire Council, as the planning authority, to decide which trees needed to be cut down or saved.

'Mistakes have been made'

In a statement, WWAG said: "This is an incredible victory for the people of our town.

"We feel vindicated in our determination and approach to save the protected trees on the Walks."

The group said it would now encourage others to object to the developer’s latest plans to "put pressure" on the council to reject them.

The developer wants to remove more than 50 ancient lime trees to make way for a dual carriageway

Jason Smithers, Conservative leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said the authority "accepts the findings of the court and the judgement".

"We acknowledge that mistakes have been made," he said, adding that the council was "determined to learn from this".

He added that it was a "difficult balancing act" to protect the local environment and build new houses.

A spokesperson for the developer Stanton Cross said: "We will be working closely with NNC to assess next steps following the outcome of the judicial review.

"While delivering on our responsibility to build the necessary infrastructure to support the Stanton Cross development we are committed to preserving and enhancing the environment wherever possible."

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