Donabate Trees Removed For Safety Reasons

The decision by the County Council to remove 60 poplar trees from the Portrane Road in Donabate has been met with concern by some local residents. They fear that they will have no say in what is planted in their place. The tall trees, which were located along the Portrane Road, outside the Community Centre, provided a promenade aspect to that part of the village and residents that this newspaper spoke to said they were particularly attractive. The sight of council workers removing them caused a stir among some residents. Locals, Marais Roux and Hubert Higgins were disappointed to see them taken away, but accepted that they had to go, due to health and safety reasons. Both men were concerned that there would not be a public consultation process, where locals could have an input into replacements for the felled trees. However, a spokesperson for the County Council explained why the trees had to go. “The trees in question were assessed by Fergus O’Carroll, Parks Superintendent, a highly qualified and experienced arboriculturist last year, following a serious incident where one of the trees fell on a car, the occupants of which were a mother and her two young children. The trees were found to be in a condition that presented a serious risk to users of the road and the community centre, credit union building and adjoining housing development. The statement continued: “The trees are vulnerable to winds from the north or east. Also the removal of high proportion of the roots has left the trees unable to access adequate water and resulted in the trees being more prone to die back and limb loss.” The statement also confirmed that Donabate residents will be kept fully up to date with any future tree planting in the area, “Senior staff from the Council’s Parks Department have already begun discussions with the local Tidy Towns group and members of the Community Council about the replanting of appropriate species in line with the Council’s Tree Strategy.” Tidy Towns Chairperson, Blaithin O’Donnell told the County Leader that they are “happy with the council’s commitment and have a good working relationship with the Parks Department and look forward to working with them on the replacement trees. Safety is our top priority,” she explained.