Council to fell 26 trees as cycleway approved

The trees on Clifford Bridge Road, Coventry, will be removed to make way for a cycleway

Coventry City Council has approved the removal of 26 trees to make way for the final section of a long-delayed cycling route.

The decision to complete the 6km (3.7-mile) Binley Cycleway was made by a senior councillor at a meeting on Monday.

The £12m route will connect the city centre with University Hospital Coventry and most of it has already been built.

But one part of the route on Clifford Bridge Road has been delayed for years after stiff opposition from residents.

The section has been redesigned multiple times after residents raised concerns about safety, protecting trees on the road and car parking.

The revised plan was signed off by Councillor Patricia Hetherton, the cabinet member for city services, who said the authority had listened to residents and made changes based on their feedback.

"I'm saddened we're losing those trees. If we reduced the width of the highway, we could have saved more trees," she told BBC CWR.

"But clearly the residents didn't want that, and as a consequence we're having to lose more trees."

The council said the trees would be replaced by 32 saplings which would provide "greater long-term benefits".

Residents have campaigned against plans to cut down the trees

Residents at the meeting shouted "shocking" and "shame on you" when the decision was announced.

A petition to save the trees gathered more than 4,000 signatures, and hundreds of campaigners turned out for a tree hug last month.

The campaign attracted celebrity support too, with Sir David Attenborough sharing tips on how to save the trees in a letter to an 11-year-old resident.

Martina Irwin, who campaigned to save the trees, spoke at the meeting and said there was "nothing wrong with any of them".

She said councils across the country had "failed to acknowledge the strength of feeling from residents about trees in their communities" and warned the same could happen in Coventry.

When asked what Sir David would think of her decision, Ms Hetherton said: "I think Sir David would be thrilled to bits that we're doing a cycle path that gets people out of cars and on to cycles."

She added: "The devil is always in the detail and when you give people a headline, they can respond accordingly. But when you actually show them what you're trying to do, it has a different impact."

The trees were decorated with ribbons and figures such as part of the campaign

Dawn McCann, who helped organise the tree hug, argued the cycleway was not safe.

She said there was a risk of collisions between cyclists and cars pulling out from driveways on Clifford Bridge Road.

The council said it considered alternative routes but argued there was no evidence to suggest the cycleway would pose an increased risk to safety.

A council report said collisions resulting in injury had reduced across the previously completed sections of the cycleway.

The cycleway is part of the council's plan to boost low levels of cycling, and encourage greener, more active travel choices in Coventry.

The council expects about 200 cyclists a day to use the Clifton Bridge Road section of the route once it has been built.

Work on the final section of the Binley Cycleway is due to begin next year and be completed in 2026.