Anger at decision to allow oak trees to be cut down at Ludlow beauty spot
A decision to allow two oak trees to be felled at a Ludlow beauty spot because they obscure the view of the town has set a dangerous precedent, the town's council has warned.
Ludlow Town Council said it was "disappointed" Shropshire Council had opted not to protect the two "iconic" oak trees on Whitcliffe Common, which overlooks the market town.
Officers gave permission for the two trees to be felled following requests from the Friends of Whitcliffe Common, which looks after the beauty spot.
But Gina Wilding, clerk of Ludlow Town Council, said: "Summer is turning to seasonal mists, and beautiful autumnal changes bring to mind the iconic oak trees on Whitcliffe.
"Ludlow Town Council is disappointed that Shropshire Council did not protect the two iconic oak trees that frame the view of Ludlow from Whitcliffe.
"The decision to allow the trees to be felled sets a precedent that values the right to a clear view too highly.
"Councillors strongly disagreed with the decision because the deciduous trees enhance the changing character of the view throughout the year.
"The trees are enjoyed by the public and, if you walk a short distance in either direction from the trees, the view is not obscured.
"Ludlow Town Council supports the work of the Friends of Whitcliffe Common, and understands that the trees on the common need to be managed, but in the case of the two oaks, it strongly believes that felling is not the answer."
Proposals to remove the 30-year-old oak trees from the top of Whitcliffe Common, which overlooks Ludlow, caused an outcry from objectors who said the healthy, mature trees should not be destroyed simply because they were deemed to be in the way of the view.
But Daphne Jones, chair of the Friends of Whitcliffe Common, said the decision to clear the stretch and reveal historical views across the town as they would have been historically, was taken in 1998 with the backing of the town council and all relevant environmental authorities.
She said the trees were too small to cause a problem 18 years ago but had now grown to obscure the very view the friends had agreed to keep clear.
Andy Boddington, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow North, who was against felling the trees, said they would be coming down sometime after the end of the nesting season.
He said the issue had stirred a surprising amount of passion.
Whitcliffe Common, situated on the southern edge of Ludlow, is maintained by the friends group in close conjunction with the leaseholders, Shropshire Wildlife Trust.
