Dozens of trees are being felled in an Angmering graveyard, years after getting permission

Dozens of trees are being chopped down in an Angmering graveyard, much to the chagrin of a neighbour who fought for them to be saved.
Trees at St Margarets Church in Arundel Road, Angmering??are lopped down. Pic Steve Robards SR2008076 SUS-200708-191723001Trees at St Margarets Church in Arundel Road, Angmering??are lopped down. Pic Steve Robards SR2008076 SUS-200708-191723001
Trees at St Margarets Church in Arundel Road, Angmering??are lopped down. Pic Steve Robards SR2008076 SUS-200708-191723001

On July 11, 2018, St Margaret’s Church in Arundel Road, Angmering, was given the go ahead from Arun District Council to cut down 45 western red cedar trees in the churchyard.

John Gibson from The Thatchway, Angmering, mounted a last-ditch attempt to change the church’s mind, in part because voles had made their home nearby. So when the months and years passed with the 50-year-old trees intact, the retired surveyor thought he had won.

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But now work has begun to fell the cedars. John said: “I think it is terrible.

John Gibson from The Thatchway, Angmering, in front of the 45 trees in the St Margaret's Church graveyard in 2018John Gibson from The Thatchway, Angmering, in front of the 45 trees in the St Margaret's Church graveyard in 2018
John Gibson from The Thatchway, Angmering, in front of the 45 trees in the St Margaret's Church graveyard in 2018

“They act as a baffle for the noise and particle pollution from the main road, and mask out the buildings behind it.

“After two years I thought they’d seen better of their ways, but no.”

On August 5, John sent a letter to Martin Warner, the Bishop of Chichester, and Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, to tell them what happened. In it, he said: “Tree fellers have decimated these magnificent trees; trees that are the actual emblem of Angmering.

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“They could have been carefully pruned, or pollarded by 20ft: an acceptable conservation solution.

“I would be grateful if you could give me your considered opinion as I find this matter to be totally inexplicable.”

A spokeswoman for the church said they were doing the work now because August was the only month when the parish hall was not in use and when it is not nesting season, and last August negotiations with Angmering Parish Council and planners were still underway. The felling will conclude by the end of the month and a fence will be erected two metres from the stream nearby.

A hedgerow will be planted in the autumn to act as a barrier between the churchyard and the stream and encourage wildlife to return.