Allotment holders upset after council fells trees on plot 'without notice'

‘DEVASTATED’ ELDERLY COUPLE WILL NOT BE RENEWING THEIR LEASE

- By HARRISON GALLIVEN Local democracy reporter

Plot manager Lorna Collier, left, with Maria Scott at the Pampsiford Road allotments in Purley The four mature apple trees were cut down by the council last month, leaving the elderly plot owners devastated Plot owners say the allotment needs a number of urgent fixes, including a new locker shed

ALLOTMENT holders have said they were blindsided after Croydon Council cut down four mature apple trees on a longstanding plot without the leaseholders’ permission, citing a rule that they say was never properly communicated.

The apple trees at Pampisford Road allotments in Purley, one of six council-owned sites across the borough, were felled by the council in June, leaving only stumps and a damaged polytunnel behind.

The elderly couple who had cared for the plot for more than 15 years have since given it up, telling fellow plot holders they were “devastated” and that they will not renew their lease.

The trees were felled due to a rule around trees needing to be less than two metres tall.

Jo Booth, chair of the Croydon Federation of Allotment and Garden Societies (CFAGS), said that plot holders were never given the six months' notice required for new rules and that many were unaware the tree regulation even existed.