Gone: the mature trees by Luxborough Tower

• YOUR readers will recall that last year Westminster City Council over-rode its own open space policy and gave itself permission to build on the play space in Luxborough Street, Marylebone.

That play space was listed as “Protected Open Space”.

They did this despite the Covid-19 pandemic having proven that we need more open space in the city rather than less.

They did this despite 62 objections being lodged to the application.

They did this despite a petition of over 800 signatures, one of the largest petitions ever received by the city council.

They did this despite the fact that the decision put other playgrounds and other open spaces at risk.

The planning committee split on party lines, but all members of the committee criticised the “scandal” that the play space had been hoarded up for five years.

More than 12 months later some initial work has started on the hoarded-up play space. That initial work has included the felling of trees.

Some tree-pruning and lopping was approved by the planning committee, but two mature red chestnuts, approximately 10 metres tall, have been felled without approval.

It can be no coincidence that those two red chestnuts were close to where the contractor wants to put cabins.

If this were a private developer, the Westminster City Council would insist on immediate rectification of the damage.

Mature replacement trees would have to be purchased and planted where the trees were wrongly felled. The developer would not be allowed to obtain benefit from having acted wrongly.

There would be no question of waiting two or three years, nor would there be any question that the replacements should be mere saplings.

The council must treat itself as it would any other developer and take immediate steps to replace the trees.

ERIC ROBINSON, W1