Town council calls for inquiry over lime tree mystery

FALMOUTH Town Council has weighed in on a growing controversy concerning the fate of three trees in a conservation area.

- by LEE TREWHELA Local Democracy Reporter [e-mail] @Lee Trewhela

The healthy lime trees were saved twice this year and once last year following peaceful protests by a campaign group called Stop the Chop! but there is concern Cornwall Council will still fell the much-loved trees in Trelawney Road.

The town council is supporting calls for an inquiry into the mystery of why exactly the trees have to be chopped down. Despite repeated requests, Cornwall Council has not revealed the legal reasons why the 60-year-old trees need to be felled.

Falmouth's mayor Alan Jewell has written to Bryan Skinner, head of transport in the Environment and Maritime Infrastructure department at Cornwall Council, strongly objecting to the loss of the mature trees.

The letter states: "The council noted the early consultation with the previous administration here at the town council in 2024. However, the council remains unable to identify the reasoning for that proposal and Cornwall Council has so far been unable to provide that reasoning nor to evidence its legal duty to remove the trees that was previously stated as the case.