Woman in dispute with council over tree felling

A NORTHSIDE woman has criticised a decision by Fingal County Council to cut down a tree outside her home.

Rosanne Florence, from Abbeyvale in Swords, claimed the council cut the tree down when she wasn’t home, despite her initial attempts to prevent it being removed.

Ms Florence said she received a knock on her door last week from council workers who asked her to move her car from outside her garden so they could proceed with the removal of the tree.

However, Ms Florence informed them that she would not move her car as she did not want the tree removed.

“The tree is on a grass verge outside my home where I had my car parked,

? she told Northside People.

“The council workers asked me to move my car so they could cut down the tree.

“I told them I wasn’t moving the car so they accepted that and moved on.

“I was worried that they would remove the tree when I wasn’t home but I couldn’t stay around all day.

?

Ms Florence said the following morning when she dropped her son to school, she returned home to find the tree had been removed.

“They knew I had raised an objection, yet they made no attempts to contact me,

? she stated.

Ms Florence believes the tree posed no danger to the public and said it was aesthetically pleasing in the estate.

“It was a healthy, beautiful tree that added value to the estate and my home,

? she argued.

“It’s just absurd. I’ve contacted them repeatedly and they haven’t returned my calls. This is a unique area that is located closer to the countryside.

?

Ms Florence plans to write a strongly worded letter to the council as she believes she wasn’t provided with enough time to appeal the decision to remove the tree.

A spokeswoman for Fingal County Council said it is currently implementing its tree policy in parts of Swords including around Abbeyvale. She explained that this followed a request from a residents’ association in the Swords area who complained about street lights being blocked by tree overgrowth.

“The Fingal Tree Strategy was on public display for consultation for an extended period some time ago and was adopted by the council in 2010,

? she told Northside People.

“This strategy sets out a number of ways in which the ‘Forest of Fingal’ can be maintained and managed into the future.

“Where a street tree caused a trip hazard through cracked/lifting footpaths or limits visibility by blocking street lights, it is our policy to remove such trees.

“For each tree that is removed, a new appropriate tree will be planted, possibly towards the end of this planting season in spring 2013.

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The spokeswoman said its crews have been working in the Swords area for the past three weeks implementing this policy.

“While we have received some queries from householders and members of the public, with the exception of an extremely small number, people are satisfied with the reasoning behind this strategy,

? she added.