Dangerous trees are to get the chop in Worthing

The Monterey cyprus trees grow in front of John Dolman’s house, in Mill Lane, Worthing.

John, 67, said: “Felling the trees will be a major benefit for me and my neighbours. We have had a horrendous amount of pigeon droppings and the chance of branches breaking off is dangerous for younger children.”

The council made a tree preservation order in 1991 on the trees. This meant for any action to be taken the planning committee had to be consulted.

The decision from councillors was unanimous.

Cllr Carol Molineaux said: “They are pretty straggly and have been left to grow and grow. I think they are top-heavy and dangerous.”

One of the conditions of the decision was that the residents would replace the trees with ones they felt would be more appropriate.

John is looking at replacing the Californian trees with ones indigenous to the local area.

Maggie Foster, 59, of Bost Hill, Worthing spoke at the meeting. She said: “I thought it was a decision of common sense to be honest.

None of us want to kill trees, they are an important part of the environment but these trees were obviously going to be negative for the area in the future.”