£40m Notts access road leaves calls for trees to be replaced
Calls have been made to replace every tree felled for the construction of the £40 million Gedling Access Road.
The leader and deputy leader of Gedling Borough Council say hundreds of trees are being brought down to build the 3.8km single carriageway stretch which will link the A612 Trent Valley Road and Nottingham Road to Mapperley Plains.
They are calling on Nottinghamshire County Council, which is leading on the project to build the new road, to replace every tree which is ripped up during the building process.
Construction work on the road is due to start in January.
Councillors John Clarke and Michael Payne said they have planted new trees in Gedling Country Park, owned by Gedling Borough Council, next to where the Gedling Access Road will be built.
They said Gedling Borough Council has made a pledge to plant hundreds of trees and has called on the county council to replace the trees felled along the route of the Gedling Access Road and make the same commitment in order to mitigate the removal of the natural habitat.
The trees planted at the Gedling Country Park are part of Gedling Borough Council’s pledge to plant 500 native trees across the borough.
The initiative was launched in November, during National Tree Week, and the council has already planted 400 whip trees and 100 hundred bean trees at Gedling Country Park, Burton Road Park, Arnot Hill Park, Willow Park and King George V Park. Hundreds more trees will be planted across Gedling over the next four years.
Council leader John Clarke said: “Nottinghamshire County Council are responsible for building the Gedling Access Road and they are felling trees to make way for it. We’re calling on them to immediately join us and do everything they can do mitigate the impact of the new road by replacing every single tree that have felled.
“The road is needed and is an important part of the infrastructure to provide much needed new homes and less traffic in Gedling Village, however, everything must be done to limit the destruction of natural habitat and wildlife which is why we are planting these trees.”
Deputy leader, Councillor Michael Payne, said: “Our Labour administration made a commitment to plant 500 trees across the borough and we’ve done that in just a single month, we are now going to plant hundreds more trees over the next four years. In November, we declared a Climate Emergency in Gedling and this is part of a robust plan that will set out our goal to be carbon neutral by 2030.
“This is the responsibility of every local authority and we are keen to see the Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Councillor Kay Cutts, taking this issue seriously and immediately committing to replacing every single tree felled for the construction of the Gedling Access Road.”
The council has said it is working closely with bodies including Gedling Borough Council to deliver the project.
This includes plans to plant 40 percent more trees than were being felled.
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