Council defends tree felling in suburban Cork park

Council officials admitted the trees were removed without the usual public notice but stressed they did so for health and safety reasons

Pictured are some trees at Beaumont Park in Cork. File Picture: Larry Cummins

Cork City Council has defended the felling of trees in a suburban park but admitted it did so without the usual public notice.

Several mature trees, which lined part of the eastern edge of Beaumont Park in Blackrock, alongside Avondale’s Utd’s soccer pitch, were felled for what the council says were health and safety reasons.

Photos of the felled trees, and an image of a motion tabled by local Fine Gael Cllr Des Cahill calling for the council to deal with “the excessive trees in Beaumont Park” was posted on the social media platform X, prompting fresh criticism of Mr Cahill.

But the motion was tabled almost five years ago – listed for discussion at the council meeting of March 11, 2019.

In it, Mr Cahill said despite more funding being made available for tree maintenance at the time, the Beaumont Park area had “largely been left behind and the residents deserve that this matter be addressed as a matter of urgency”.

“The area that needs addressing is the full line of trees, immediately at the boundary of the residents. The entire row needs to be removed,” his motion read.

Cllr Des Cahill, who tabled a motion in 2019 asking for works to be done in the park. File Picture: Brian Lougheed

Mr Cahill said he tabled the motion five years ago in response to the concerns of residents whose homes are in the shadow of the trees, and said he got one email of complaint last Wednesday about the tree felling.

He said he visited the park himself on Thursday to inspect the work, and said he expected to see an entire line of trees butchered.

But he said what he saw he would describe as a “thinning operation”, with every second or third tree in the line of trees felled.

Sometimes tree maintenance means thinning or felling, he said.

The council said nine trees - seven horse chestnut trees, a maple, and a London plane tree - were removed from the line following an inspection by the council’s tree officer, and by an independent arborist at the request of residents living next to the park.

“The report was prepared by a professional arborist for internal council use, and endorsed by the council’s tree officer. The council is satisfied that all tree removal was necessary in terms of health and safety,” it said.

It said the trees were removed on foot of the reports "solely on health and safety grounds" because they were "structurally unsafe".

And because the trees were structurally unsafe, the council said the option of pruning would not have removed the risk of danger of the trees falling.

But in response to queries, the council said while it is practice to place notices on trees to be felled, it did not happen in this case.

“In this particular case, it was not possible due to short notice of the availability of the contractor to carry out the necessary works,” it said.

It also confirmed that new trees will be planted nearby to replace the felled trees.

And when asked if a park can have excessive trees, the council said the number of trees growing in this park “is appropriate to a park setting”.

Meanwhile, a motion is due to be discussed at December’s council meeting on Monday which urges the council’s tree officer to engage with city councillors to identify potential sites where more trees could be planted.

“By engaging with local communities and harnessing local knowledge about potential tree planting sites we should aim to significantly increase the number of trees planted,” Cllr John Sheehan said.