Couple go out on a limb to stop sailing club cutting back trees
A COUPLE staged a protest against plans to cut back trees on the banks of the River Trent.
Ann and Robert Parker, of Lady Bay, spent yesterday afternoon making their views heard on the cycle path between The Hook and Nottingham Sailing Club. The work is being carried out for the club, which said each year it puts forward a schedule of coppicing for the willows on the river which is approved by Rushcliffe Borough Council.
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The club says this is according to an agreement which has been in place since 2011.
But, Mr Parker, 55, of Holme Road, said the club was "chopping off too much. The club has for a number of years now been chopping along the river bank.
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"Their rationale is they have to cut so that they get more wind for their sails and so they have been denuding the river banks."
Mrs Parker, 56, said: "There isn't enough undergrowth for the animals.
"There is less and less opportunity for birds to nest, in particular on Hawthorn trees.
"It also creates a problem for the fishermen. There is no shade for the fish to congregate.
"It also makes it windy for people riding their bikes or walking up and down. This is having an impact on ordinary people."
The Parkers, who have lived in Lady Bay for 26 years, sat on a branch of a tree in a bid to stop it being lopped off with a chainsaw.
"We regularly walk our dog, 13-year-old Mr Dibbs, a retired greyhound, around there," said Mrs Parker.
"We've been walking past that tree for 26 years.
"It would be a terrible shame to see it have branches chopped off.
"We want it to stay the same."
She also said council officers had told the couple they would leave the tree as it was for the time being.
"For now, we can celebrate victory," she added.
Lady bay Green Party councillor Richard Mallender said: "I have been contacted by around half a dozen people over the past year who are concerned about the work carried out by the sailing club.
"We think the river banks need to be kept as natural as possible.
"The wildlife has more of a right to be there than the sailing club."
Jim Penniston, vice-commodore of the club, said the club had not been contacted by the Green Party or received any complaints.
He added: "We are managing the willow scrub along the river bank and we are in agreement with Rushcliffe Borough Council.
"We are a sailing club and the wind is very important to sailing.
"We are managing the land surrounding the river."
He added that he would have expected a Green Party councillor to be aware of what his council had agreed.
7 Comments
by theCLIFTONION
Monday, March 04 2013, 5:03PM
“Walkers on the North bank of that part of the river hardly get a glimpse of the water when walking from the Racecouse to Colwick Park because of the completely overgrown, self-seeded, dense vegetation growing up between the footpath there and the river bank.
On the corresponding South bank of the Trent however, vegetation management over the years has opened up a wonderful uninterrupted view of that great sweep of the river from the Racecourse and Sea Cadets hut right down to the weir at Holme Lock, which would not be possible if the corresponding weeds and bushes had been allowed to grow unchecked.
As far as I remember, the local farmer on the Bridgford side used to mow his field right up to the bank itself, thereby limiting the chances of any new vegetation being established.
Where were all the meally-mouthed moaners then?”
by SlickSpoons
Monday, March 04 2013, 9:38AM
“"SlickSpoons
"You really are a slimeball aren't you!"
Is that a question or a statement of fact? Sounds like a question to me, despite the absence of a question mark.
If you're asking me whether I class myself as a slimeball, the answer is........perhaps?
I hope this clarifies matters.”
by Worldlywise
Monday, March 04 2013, 6:54AM
“Well done! The sailing club have taken no notice of complaints over the years. They only care about what they want, not the environment or its wildlife. They are hellbent on denuding the bank as they have tried to before. Please don't make such unhelpful comments unless you are familiar with this part of the river bank, because if you know what is happening there you will support this couple. I suspect such comments are from club members!”
by NFFC1898
Sunday, March 03 2013, 6:44PM
“SlickSpoons
You really are a slimeball aren't you! You make my flesh creep!”
by SlickSpoons
Sunday, March 03 2013, 11:39AM
“For the love of God!!!
I NEVER want to read another "story" like this EVER AGAIN!!!”
by smshogun
Saturday, March 02 2013, 12:12PM
“What about if the boot was on the other foot and they failed to maintain the river bank and it becomes overgrown and people complain, or if tree limbs fall off into the river and sink a boat as they are often difficult to see in water. What if they form and clog up parts of a weir and workmen risk their lives to clear them.
Surely a balanced view is needed here as all trees and undergrowth need maintaining, and the statement about wildlife having more rights than humans is absurd, if there were protected species in the area they would be under a protection order and pruning would be suspended. Humans and animals can co-exist alongside each other as they have done for centuries.”
by inoffthered
Saturday, March 02 2013, 10:28AM
“"He added that he would have expected a Green Party councillor to be aware of what his council had agreed."
Well there was your first mistake, expecting any councillor let alone a "green" to know what was going on.
Any how typical of the do gooders to take action without first making any contact with the club to discuss the "problem".
Well Mr & Mrs Parker, you have had your 5 minutes of fame (and doubtless ordered copies of the photograph to send to your friends and family as evidence of your new found fame).
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and it is a pity you don't understand that pollarding is a centuries old traditional that actually preserves the trees. If you leave willows alone, they grow too tall and wide and become unstable and, when the the surrounding ground becomes waterlogged they just fall over. Walk down any river bank where the trees have been left (some may say neglected) and you will see what i mean, rotting stumps and gaps where trees used to be.”