The East End’s Oldest Tree Saved | News

Mulberry Tree saved by High courtroom determination

Author: Louise EastonPublished 2 hours in the past

The High Court has dominated to save lots of the East End’s oldest tree.

Developers had needed to uproot the 400 yr previous Bethnal Green Mulberry Tree, which survived being bombed within the Blitz, to construct flats on the positioning of the previous London Chest Hospital.

However campaigners, backed by Dame Judi Dench argued that replanting the tree would kill it.

Tower Hamlets council granted permission for nearly 300 properties on the positioning subsequent to Victoria Park and developer Crest Nicholson mentioned the tree can be picked up by the basis base and “replanted it in its entirety” elsewhere.

On Friday High Court decide Sir Duncan Ouseley mentioned the council’s planning committee had “misinterpreted” planning coverage when it thought of whether or not the tree would die if it was moved and the “materials consideration was ignored”.

A East End Society spokesman mentioned:

“Crest Nicholson’s overblown improvement would have blighted the Victoria Park Conservation Area in East London for generations to return. It demolished a listed constructing, eliminated numerous mature bushes and delivered far too few inexpensive properties. The Bethnal Mulberry is the oldest tree within the East End, surviving plague, hearth and blitz. We hope it should flourish for hundreds of years to return to encourage us all.”

The socety additionally thanked Dame Judi who acted as a patron of its marketing campaign and mentioned the concept of digging up the tree “crammed her with horror”.

A Tower Hamlets Council spokesman mentioned:

“The Council acknowledges the High Court determination to quash our unique approval for planning and listed constructing consent for a improvement of 291 new properties, of which 35 % had been inexpensive, on the London Chest Hospital web site. The utility to problem our determination was primarily based on 5 authorized grounds, of which the High Court dismissed 4. The fifth regarding the mulberry tree, has been upheld.”

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