Orangefield Park trees cut down by contractors are replaced

NIE said 400 trees were planted on 28 February in the park

Work has been carried out to replace about 170 trees cut down accidentally by contractors in an east Belfast park.

More than 400 new trees have been planted by Northern Ireland Electricity Networks (NIE) in Orangefield Park.

Last May, NIE contractors mistakenly cut down trees and saplings while working on overhead power lines.

A Belfast City Council (BCC) spokesperson said they are pleased to see trees have been replanted in the area at no cost to the council.

The spokesperson said they will "work closely with NIE Networks in relation to any future maintenance work required on the power lines within the park".

Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said he was delighted to see that new trees have been planted at the site.

He said the loss of the trees in December had "decimated a sizeable chunk" of the park.

"People were genuinely gutted with what happened," Mr Smyth told BBC News NI.

"So I am delighted to see the planting of these 400 new native trees and that going forward, much tighter agreements and processes are in place."

Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said tighter controls over similar work are now in place

In Northern Ireland, NIE Networks have a responsibility to cut back any trees that grow around power lines.

In April 2023, NIE had asked Belfast City Council for permission to cut back the trees in the park and a licence was granted with specific instructions to "lop the trees, as opposed to felling them".

But the following month work was suspended when residents complained about "excessive tree cutting".

• Tree benefits being missed out on in more than 200 areas

• No legal cases over protected trees being cut down

• Belfast City Council's new tree strategy aims to tackle climate targets

NIE later said the trees had been cut down by accident, in part due to ineffective communication.

It said while the work was "technically competent" the tree cutting works "deviated significantly from those agreed with Belfast City Council as detailed in the published work instruction".

The company also offered to plant and pay for 400 new trees in the park.

In a statement on Friday, NIE said: "On 28 February around 400 trees were planted in Orangefield. These were a mix of native species completing the work required".