The Isle of Wight council have finally broken their silence on the saga of the Umbrella Tree in East Cowes.
It appears that only after being embarrassed by the media attention have the council finally spoken out.
In response to calls for the tree to be saved, Cllr Barry Abraham, Cabinet member for planning and housing, said,
“We understand how important this tree is to local people and would like to reassure residents that we are working with East Cowes Town Council and Island Roads to explore a range of options to prolong the life of the tree, while keeping the area safe for people.
“We would like to thank East Cowes Town Council for their offer of an independent tree assessment which we will consider alongside our existing reports – all of which will be made available to the public on our website as soon as they are available.
“A decision to fell the tree would be taken only as an absolute last resort.”
Plans on hold
The mayor of East Cowes Town Council said,
“At the East Cowes Town Council meeting on Thursday 18th January 2018, Councillors resolved that a letter would urgently be sent to Head of Place at IWC requesting that the destruction and replacement of the Umbrella Tree in East Cowes is halted immediately until IWC can reassure the Town Council and East Cowes residents that due legal process has been carried out with regard to the Umbrella Tree.
“It is a highly emotive subject and the Town Council understands and empathises with the sentiments of East Cowes residents and those who also have expressed passionate concern over the potential loss of this iconic tree.”
In an email received early this afternoon, Head of Place at IWC has confirmed:
“…that there will be no works on the tree until such time as the council has properly assess the application for works from Island Roads, together with any proposals that you may wish to put forward by the local community with regard to the tree and any professional reports that the council requires to inform any decision.”
Wood from tree
The Mayor wishes it to be known that the comment regarding availability of wood from the felled tree was an offer from Island Roads that it could make a log pile from the tree available to the residents, if they wished.
Image: © Chris Packham
