Cardiff tree felling stopped by protesters

Protesters chained themselves to the trees due to be cut down

Campaigners trying to protect 150-year-old trees say they have managed to delay developers felling them.

Several mature trees at Suffolk House, in Canton, Cardiff, were due to be cut down on Sunday but workmen were stopped within minutes of starting.

Protesters chained themselves to the trees in a bid to "address the climate emergency".

The developer, Quin and Co, said it had all relevant permissions to build 17 new homes on the site.

The company said the trees were damaging the wall surrounding the property.

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Save Suffolk House Trees campaigner Katherine Jones said the trees help tackle air pollution in a busy area.

"They've been here for around 150 years so we're just trying to make sure that they stay around for another 100 years for everybody to be able to enjoy them as part of the community," she said.

Katherine Jones said the trees help tackle air pollution in a busy area

Councillor Ramesh Patel accepted that planning permission had been granted but said it was "extremely important for all of us to save our mature trees".

Nigel Pugh, of the Woodland Trust, said mature trees were "literally irreplaceable".

"They create a microclimate here, they control weather temperatures, they reduce flooding, they provide habitat for wildlife," he said.

"We've got to start prioritising the climate emergency and address this now."

A spokesman for Quin and Co insisted both the traffic management proposals and the felling of the trees, as part of the re-development of the site, were permitted.