'Tree of the year' threatened by housing scheme

A 70-year old tree that was to be the focal point of a south London housing scheme may have to be felled due to the effect the development could have on it, according to a planning report.

The Japanese pagoda was a key feature in Merton Council's controversial plans to build 93 new homes on Mitcham's Canons House heritage site, with the homes to be built to face it.

But the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said the scheme was likely to have "significant, unavoidable impacts, both above and below ground" on the tree, which was once named as the borough's "tree of the year".

Merton Council was approached for a response, but said it could not comment on live planning applications.

The RHS report was prepared for the planning requirements designed to protect the tree. The report went on to say that the likely harm amounted to a "well-justified argument for removal and replacement of the tree".

It also noted that the amount of canopy needing to be removed "will greatly diminish the tree's local visual amenity value" and "compromise the tree's ability to photosynthesise and produce energy".

The site, in the grounds of the Grade II-listed Canons House, is undergoing major improvement works, after being awarded £4.4m in National Lottery funding.

The council housing scheme has attracted criticism due to its potential impact on the heritage site.

The group Mitcham Cricket Green Community & Heritage said the threat to the tree was the latest in a series of concerns members had about the scheme.

Chair Tony Burton said: "This puts at risk the benefits of nearly £5m, which has just been spent with support from the National Lottery on this premier heritage location.

"Whatever the pros and cons of allowing development, everyone agrees that the award-winning pagoda tree should be the focal point of any new housing."

Merton Council wants to build about 400 new homes on four separate sites in the borough, to help address a housing shortage.

The borough has one of the longest estimated timescales in England for clearing its social housing waiting list.

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