22 hours Ago By [email protected] (Sam Lennon)
The cutting down of mature trees along an A-road has been branded “decimation of the countryside” by concerned environmentalists. “Majestic” poplars have been reduced to stumps off the A256 near Sandwich - but land owners insist correct process has been followed. They say the work, carried out suddenly at the turn of March and April, was undertaken by a “professional set of contractors” as branches were “growing dangerously”.
But environmentalist Nik Mitchell says the “majestic trees contributed so much to our landscape and air quality”. The 41-year-old, from Ramsgate, has a regular job as an electrician but in his environmental work has a social media platform called Get Wild. He posted a video of the trees on his X account which has now been viewed almost 200,000 times.
“It feels like a significant loss for the environment,” Mr Mitchell said. “The trees were really high, I don't know how high in metres but they were mature trees. “They have been cut right back, down to pretty much the ground, all in one go.
“They have been pollarded in the past, which is common practice, but these hadn't been done for a long time and they’ve been done in one fell swoop.” Pollarding means cutting the tops of trees back so they then grow a small mass of branches close together. The line of trees along the roadside are at the Stone Cross area of the A256, on the southbound carriageway, towards Dover, just south of the roundabout for A258 Deal Road.
Another set of trees, left higher after being cut, are around from the roundabout into Deal Road. They are, however, showing signs of regrowth with new twigs and leaves beginning to appear. But Mr Mitchell says he thinks the work is “decimation of the countryside for little gain”.
“It has been a real shock,” he said. “The place looks different when you drive through it now and since posting my video that's what everyone's saying.” The work was carried out by a contractor on behalf Mansfields, which is leasing the land off Highland Court Farm.
Gary Walters, who runs Highland Court Farm, told KentOnline the trees were “growing dangerously” and stressed the work was a “normal bit of farming”. “It was all done properly, with the right checks for nesting birds,” he said. “It would be lovely not to have to cut them down, but the trees had reached a stage in their life where they were weaker, some diseased, and they needed pollarding.
“Arguably, maybe they were left too long before they had a haircut. But that’s all it is - a haircut.” Mr Walters said Mansfields is planting 40,000 trees in the area as it plans to give the orchards “a new lease of life”.
“[The cutting of the trees] gives us an opportunity to grow a more native hedgerow, let light in, and improve biodiversity by allowing things to grow where the roots of the big trees used to soak up all the nutrients and water,” he said. “Farming is tough at the moment. You’d rather not have to deal with this kind of thing, especially when it’s right next to a road.
But it’s just part of the farming cycle. “Like people – some trees last longer, but eventually it’s time for renewing things. “Mansfields used a professional set of contractors - a big firm which does this kind of work all over.
” In a statement, Dover District Council said it is “aware of people’s concerns” about the trees and is “looking into the matter”. Mansfields was approached for comment by KentOnline..
