Campaigners say a new flood prevention programme would 'decimate' trees around a popular beauty spot. Campaign group Friends of Poynton Pool have called for Cheshire East Council to rethink a plan that would cut down a significant number of trees.
A public meeting with Cheshire East Council in October 2022 revealed a proposal to fell ‘at least 44 trees around Poynton Pool’, with a ‘further 37 trees at risk of removal’ in order to reduce a 1 in 10,000 year flood risk.
This flood resilience plan has been met with forceful opposition and now local resident Jen Hartshorne has created a petition receiving nearly 1,500 signatures and rallied together other Poynton residents. READ MORE: How Vimto became a Ramadan tradition in the Middle East One member of the action group, Lauren Forth, 35, says she objects to the council’s ‘incredibly extreme’ solution to the flood risk which 'would be a serious loss to Poynton town if this were to go ahead'. “What hasn’t been made clear is why such drastic action needs to be taken,” she told the M.E.N. “Especially when the area has never flooded, it’s never even come close to flooding.” Lauren is not alone in her concern.
Another member of Friends of Poynton Pool, Mike Ellison, added: “The impacts of the proposal have been ill-considered and importantly have not accounted for the loss of the immense value that the trees represent”.
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