Residents in battle to save 100-year-old Sussex oak tree

The healthy mature oak – in Acorn Avenue, Cowfold – is facing the axe because its roots are being blamed for causing subsidence at a nearby house.

But villagers maintain that the much-loved tree is not to blame and are fighting to save it. Campaigner Gabi Barrett said: “The tree is beside a pond where great crested newts are resident. Its roots are an integral part of the pond's bank.

"The pond has its own entire ecosystem – plants, insects, bats and hedgehogs reside there alongside great crested newts. Felling the tree would destroy this system.”

She said the tree – which is due to be felled next week – is close to a play area for small children. “It provides shade for picnics and there is a bench underneath. At dusk you can sit on the bench as the bats wake up and feast on the insects. For a lot of people it is a very special place.”

She said that an insurance company is blaming the tree for causing subsidence to the nearby house. “However, the likelihood is that is not the case.

“Oak roots run deep but do not spread outwards beyond the tree's crown and the crown of the tree does not extend as far as the house.” She said it was more likely that conifers near the house were the cause of subsidence.

“The majority of folk in Cowfold do not want to see this oak tree felled.” She said the oak tree stands on parish council-owned land but said that the council was ‘caving in to the demands of the insurance company.’

“It is within the parish council’s power to fight this, but they are choosing not to.” She said she understood it was a question of financial costs.

Have you read? Sussex hotel restaurant scoops major culinary award

James Bond fans promised a view to a thrill at special 007 event in West Sussex

Concerns over cuts to bus service in West Sussex village

She said villagers had investigated ‘root blocking’ whereby a trench would be dug and cement poured into it to halt the tree’s root growth, but cost estimates for that ranged from £5,000 to £50,000.

Cowfold Parish Council has been approached for comment.