Felled 100-year-old tree 'could have been saved'

A council said the tree had to be removed from outside a school due to "safety concerns"

A felled tree estimated to be more than 100 years old could have been saved, campaigners claimed.

Southend-on-Sea Council decided to remove the tree outside St Bernard's High School in Westcliffe as it posed a "safety concern" due to disease.

Deputy leader Meg Davidson insisted "every effort" was made to prolong its life.

But the Once-Upon-A-Tree community group said it had only shown "signs of the beginnings of decay".

The campaigners called for the council to make better use of resistographs, a kind of test involving a drill, which can assess how affected a tree is by rot.

Green party councillor Richard Longstaff said he was hoping to set up a group within the council to be able to monitor and avoid any "unnecessary felling".

In the last nine years, the council has removed 2,369 trees and planted 4,084, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'We have had to act'

Ms Davidson said they did not want to remove any street trees around the city but it was "unavoidable".

She said: "We determined that, unfortunately, the London plane tree in question has substantial decay and damage within its core.

"This decay, caused by a type of fungus, weakens the tree significantly and poses a risk of it falling and, given its proximity to a school, public road, and footpath, we have had to act."