THE Stop the Chop campaigners – who forced Cornwall Council to stop felling much-loved trees following three public protests – say they are prepared for more confrontation.

The group is frustrated that despite claims by the council that it would communicate with the Falmouth community, the campaigners’ requests for a meeting have fallen on deaf ears.

They are now concerned the three healthy lime trees on Falmouth’s Trelawney Road will still come down with no explanation by the council of the exact reasons why. There was controversy earlier this year after the local authority decided to fell the trees, which are 60 years old. The council said the trees were a “potential hazard” to residents and traffic, but has so far refused to identify the specific issues.

A two-woman protest took place in Trelawney Road in December 2024 when the felling was first mooted. Protesters then gathered in greater force on Monday, March 17, when work was due to be carried out by the council’s highways wing Cormac to chop down the huge trees. Residents demanded to see an ecology report before the work was carried out.

After a 90-minute impasse, Falmouth police inspector Rick Milburn told the crowd there wasn’t an ecology report and as a result had advised the council to postpone the work in order for talks to continue between all involved. The council later said there wasn’t a legal need for such a report but stressed that ecology tests had been carried out.

The work was due to recommence on Wednesday, March 26 but again was called off by police for public safety reasons after protesters climbed two of the trees. Following discussions with partners, Cornwall Council decided to pause plans to remove three trees.

It issued a statement which read: “The decision follows the expression of strong community concerns regarding the work and will allow for a full review of the practical steps to carry out the works whilst being considerate of the legal constraints that the council is working within.

“The removal will now be paused for at least three months and any future work will require a new application for a road closure notice. Although we cannot comment further at present, Cornwall Council will be communicating with community representatives before finally deciding how to proceed.”

Despite that statement, the Stop the Chop group says there has been no communication from the council, even after campaigners emailed senior officers asking for a meeting.

Debs Newman, from the group, told us: “We’ve given them a lot of slack because of the council elections, but that was weeks ago now. We were hoping for genuine discussion. We’ve contacted the council about having a meeting but have heard nothing.

“We still want to know what legal grounds Cornwall Council had for proposing to fell the trees given that they are in a conservation area and they’re not dead, dying or at risk. We feel there is something else we don’t know about and aren’t being told. The decision appears to have been made behind closed doors. Why isn’t it in the public domain?

“We still feel there is absolutely no reason to fell the trees. Up until last week we still had hope there would be a meeting where we could share our perspective and the council would share its point of view; that we could talk more openly about why the trees have to come down.

“However, we’ve heard nothing. We now feel quite negative and have been forced into thinking nothing has changed. We’re gearing up again for more confrontation. We’ll roll our sleeves up and get proactive. We’re hoping that with a new administration, there might come more transparency.”

Their local councillor, Labour’s Laurie Magowan, said: “I am working with Stop the Chop campaigners and council representatives to proceed with the council’s commitment to engage more fully with the community and meet with campaigners, following the failed attempts to remove the trees in March.

“Obviously, the local elections and subsequent member induction period has taken up some time of key officers, but we would like to see the progress on the commitments previously made.”

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council says it is unable to say anything about the matter currently but an update is pending.

A planning application was approved by the council in January 2022 allowing the owner of a house adjacent to two of the trees to reconstruct a “dangerous and severely leaning” listed boundary wall, facing Trelawney Road off Woodlane.

A planning statement supporting the application by Catherine Mead, a deputy lieutenant of Cornwall, stated at the time that “there are a series of mature lime trees located within the pavement of Trelawney Road which have caused the severe leaning of the wall leaving it in danger of collapse. The proposal is necessary through disrepair caused by tree root damage”.

The root of one of the trees was also cited as corresponding with the displacement of flagstones in the kitchen of the house.

The applicant and Cornwall Council have been approached asking if the felling of the three healthy trees had been requested by Ms Mead, who owns Lynher Dairies which makes Cornish Yarg cheese.

Cllr Magowan was asked if he knew if there was a connection. He responded: “The planning application you reference is adjacent to the trees and boundary wall, but I don’t have any further comment on the relationship with the process to replace the trees in question.”