Torquay mass tree felling done without council permission

The Italian Gardens were home to 40 palm trees

More than 40 trees were cut down in an historical seaside garden due to the absence of a plan and poor communication, a report has found.

The iconic palm trees were chopped down in the Italian Gardens in Torquay in preparation for the site's centenary.

A report from Torbay Council into what went wrong found that its maintenance firm Swisco felled the trees without the council being aware.

The council said "very serious and substantial learning has taken place".

The felling of the trees sparked anger and disgust among some residents.

Torbay Council's investigation into the felling of the trees reported the incident "generated considerable local, regional and national media coverage as well as strong reactions from local residents and visitors".

The trees were chopped down in December

The council's report said there were "preliminary discussions" of ideas for the Italian Gardens in 2019/20.

The report found there "was no final plan" and any emerging plan was "put in abeyance through budget pressures, the pandemic and the setup of SWISCo", which started operating in July 2020.

The report said: "What is not clear from the available records is the extent to which the proposal to remove the palm trees was known and by whom."

By the autumn of 2023 Swisco staff had developed plans to get rid of the palm trees but did not share the plans with the Swisco managing director or the relevant Torbay Council cabinet holder, Adam Billings.

Mr Billings said the removal of the trees "was not planned or communicated to the expected standard".

The report found most of the palms removed were about 50 years old and "displaying signs of advanced decline".

The council said it was important to note there were no palms present in the Italian Gardens when it was first planted in 1924.

A new garden is being planted with about 1,600 new plants and will include direct replacements for some of the palms, together with the addition of more than 100 topiary yew trees.