Chichester College issues statement after residents voice concerns over felling of 27 trees

In a statement, Principal Helen Loftus said: “We have received feedback from staff that some people were beginning to feel unsafe in the car park at night – especially in the autumn and winter months.

“To address this, the college has invested in new energy-saving LED lighting and the installation of enhanced CCTV cameras. To ensure this works effectively to illuminate the car park, 27 trees were removed."

Extra security measures were introduced at the college following thefts in the car park and the trees’ branches obstructed the view of the CCTV cameras.

As Chichester College owns the land where the car park is situated, it did not require planning permission to fell the trees. The trees in question also were not protected by a tree preservation order (TPO) which would have prohibited cutting them down or performing any other works.

Additionally, the College is now in talks with the Chichester Tree Wardens and plans to hold a meeting with the volunteers to discuss how the institution can strengthen its environmental efforts.

The statement went on to say: “We do take the wellbeing and health of our 180 trees across the college very seriously, and, as such, we maintain a significant financial investment into keeping our current trees healthy and regularly carry out comprehensive surveys of our trees.

“We would like to apologise whole-heartedly to our staff and students, and to our local community, that we didn’t share this information in advance.

"This was, we regret, a mistake but one we will learn from.”

The College also added that 14 saplings have already been planted in the trees’ place, with another 16 scheduled to be planted, although it appreciates ‘these will not be fully grown for a number of years'.

Peter Collinson, a Chichester resident with a PhD in Environmental Science, discovered the trees had been cut down last Monday (September 5) and was ‘horrified to see yet another piece of Chichester literally destroyed overnight’.

He said: "It just felt like an act of absolute wanton vandalism.

"[The college] is supposed to be environmentally-friendly and stewarding the green concept for the next generation.

“You’ve got an institutional entity that the people look towards for doing the right thing, and they’ve quite clearly done something pretty bad. And that could, I think, impact the efforts of conservation quite heavily.

“The thing that’s special about Chichester is that it’s not a massive, urbanised city. It’s a very special place, and I feel like with all the development happening right now that all this specialness is being knocked down and built on.

"We need to get out of the mindset that trees are a nuisance. They’re an absolute saviour.”

Residents also raised their concerns recently following the proposed felling of two Redwood trees on a Chichester road last month (August).