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28th March Update
It’s nine days since the council leader responded to my email, informing me that he’d passed my concerns onto the relevant people and I would be responded to directly.
I’ve heard nothing.
Email sent this evening to planningenforcement@wirral.gov.uk
This one is now in the Wirral Globe, but it hasn’t reached the public at large. The council leader is shielded from us because we’ll need to fork out and subscribe to read it.
https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/24208709.plea-save-trees-near-wirral-town-halls-north-annexe/
As we manage to break through the Wirral Globe’s shielding of controversial issues (subscribe only articles) from hundreds of thousands of council tax payers, it all becomes clear...
THESE CHERRY TREES AND THEIR CHERRY BLOSSOMS ARE DOOMED.
Never forget…
Wirral Has Heard The Cry Of The Earth:
TIMBERRRRRRRR…!!!
My email was also sent to Green Party leader Pat Cleary, who did not bother to respond or to make ANY public statement!
I will aim to get images of the felled and destroyed cherry trees as the council “moves forward” 🍒 🌳
Thank you, readers.
Tree Preservation Orders
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tree-preservation-orders-and-trees-in-conservation-areas#making-tree-preservation-orders
I just reported a problem on @fixmystreet
https://www.fixmystreet.com/report/5784916
The demolition is now imminent
A last gasp email to two Green Party councillors, sent in an attempt to save these cherry trees. I’d already emailed these two a couple of weeks ago with all the details, but heard nothing back:
To: patcleary@wirral.gov.uk jobird@wirral.gov.uk
cc: paulstuart@wirral.gov.uk
Dear Green Party councillors,
I hope you had a good, peaceful Easter weekend.
I’m not sure whether you pay money to subscribe to the Wirral Globe, but an article has been published there which the vast majority of council tax payers and voters cannot read.
I’ve managed to ‘hack’ into the system – which is shielding the council leader from accountability – and reproduce the full article on my wirralinittogether.blog, here:
As you can appreciate, an opportunity to act has been lost. Wirral Council has not ‘heard the cry of the earth’ or planned ahead, and these fully blossoming cherry trees are now doomed to become fire wood.
The demolition is imminent. As Green Party councillors, I now urgently request that you step in, speak up on the public’s behalf and raise a Tree Preservation Order before it’s too late.
I do hope you will respond to this request,
Best regards,
Paul Cardin
Councillor Paul Stuart: “Two of the most ugliest …” etc.
Tuesday 2nd April UPDATE
This morning, the “subscribers only” block 🚫 on open, transparent journalism appears to have been lifted by the council’s Wirral Globe partners. Here’s that link again:
https://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/24208709.plea-save-trees-near-wirral-town-halls-north-annexe
2nd April UPDATE, continued
This afternoon we received a very positive message from Green Party councillor Jo Bird of Bromborough ward. Although the North Annexe demolition is now imminent, with Councillor Bird’s intervention, the cherry trees may be saved…!!
Our response:
| Paul Cardin <> | 15:37 (30 minutes ago) |  | |
| to Jo | |||
Hi Jo,
That’s great, thank you very much for your email. I will update my blog accordingly. I know lots of people are keen to be updated on the situation and – given the ongoing cost of living crisis and council tax hikes – may not be able to pay money to subscribe and remove the protective shield from Wirral Globe articles.
It’s brilliant that you’re stepping in to speak up on behalf of so many people who are rightly concerned that Councillor Stuart and his officers did not appear to envisage any problem here, and missed the opportunity to plan and to do something about it.
I’m hopeful that with your intervention, the North Annexe demolition process will be brought to a halt immediately and an urgent Tree Preservation Order applied,
Best wishes,
Paul Cardin
http://paulcardin.substack.com
Councillor Bird’s timely response to the above, also received today:
Here’s hoping the trees survive. I have taken Jo Bird’s advice and will be attending the Environment Committee on Monday 15th April to put the following question to Council Leader Paul Stuart:
[MAP] Wirral’s current Tree Preservation Orders
https://mapping.wirral.gov.uk/WebMap9/Map.aspx?MapName=TPO
IT CAN BE DONE.
Transplanting Large Trees: What You Need to Know
4th April update
Councillor Jo Bird has been brilliant 👏 on this and has even contacted the senior officer responsible.
Here is the official response. It seems Nicola was not prepared to engage directly with the public, as promised early on by the leader, Paul Stuart. But that keys in with Wirral Council’s long damaged culture.
From: Wallbank, Nicola <nicolawallbank@wirral.gov.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 11:04 AM
To: Bird, Jo (Councillor) <jobird@wirral.gov.uk>
Cc: Corpserv-CustomerFeedback <customerfeedback@wirral.gov.uk>
Subject: FS-Case-601895421
Dear Councillor Bird,
All of our urban trees are important, however due to these six cherry trees being so close to the foundations of the building, the demolition of the North Annexe cannot take place without causing significant damage to them. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to remove the trees and ensure adequate replacement as their successful retention is not possible. As we move forward with the ambitious regeneration proposals for the Seacombe Corridor and area around Wallasey town hall, we will use this opportunity to replace the lost trees with new ones, including tree species that will not only enhance the arboricultural diversity but also improve the overall landscape of this location.
Kind regards
Nicola Wallbank Ph.D. B.Sc. (Hons) MArborA
Senior Trees and Woodland Manager
Wirral Council
Email: nicolawallbank@wirral.gov.uk
Visit our web site www.wirral.gov.uk
I’ll take this opportunity to apologise on both the leader’s and Nicola’s behalf for their inappropriate use of the term ‘move forward’.
Cheers for now 👍
5th April 2024 update
10th April update
This email arrived today:
My response:
Joe D’Henin’s response:
11th April update
The six cherry trees are still standing, but the big breaking machines are poised to move in and tear down the building.
UPDATE 15th April 2024
I was at Birkenhead Town Hall tonight attending the Emergency Environment Committee meeting that had been called.
I asked the following question about the six cherry trees outside the North Annexe, which are still standing as I type:
“Why did the council leader and his officers not make any provision for protecting the six cherry trees now in full blossom and in close proximity to the front of the North Annexe building in Brighton Street, Wallasey?
The demolition of this building is imminent, possibly in progress or possibly now completed as this Environment Committee meeting takes place. If the council had made full provision to protect these trees, we would not have found ourselves in a situation where they are likely to be chopped down due to their proximity to the works.
With thoughtful planning, this situation was both foreseeable and avoidable. If the council leader and his officers had envisaged this situation arising, the trees could have been either carefully shielded from damage or potentially transplanted to another nearby location. If carried out professionally and with due care, it is entirely feasible to transplant mature trees. Wirral Council employs a number of staff who are qualified to carry out this specialist work.
The display boards outside the Brighton Street site clearly indicate that the works are ‘government funded’. I believe it would have been possible to make representations to central government in order to apply for the funds needed to avoid destroying these beautiful, blossoming trees.
To return to my initial question, why did the council leader and his officers not make any provision for protecting the six cherry trees now in full blossom and in close proximity to the front of the North Annexe building in Brighton Street Wallasey?
17th April update
Demolition of the North Annexe continues in earnest…
As these six blossoming, ‘CO2 capturing’ cherry 🍒 trees 🌳 are transformed into firewood, will Environmental Chair Councillor Grey be flourishing her ‘Green’ credentials and celebrating environmental protection on EARTH DAY? 🌎
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day
18th April UPDATE [VIDEO]
As you can see, none of the trees have been felled, but they may get buried beneath the rubble soon.
19th April UPDATE [VIDEO]
23rd April UPDATE
A few days ago I filmed the site and got footage of a precious bus stop that had been heavily protected by the workers on site. So careful precautions had been taken to ensure that Merseytravel’s glossy yellow paintwork was not scratched or damaged.
I also happened to notice that the trees HAD NOT BEEN PROTECTED and if you look closely, you’ll see where branches have been knocked off by falling steel and masonry:
So today, I sent the following email to journalist Craig Manning and editor Jamie Bowman at the Wirral Globe:
Hi Craig,
Yes, please. The issues here would hit home for lots of people if you could post a link to the YouTube ‘short’ I took!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R1N-TkwpnH
COMMENT:
“When I attended the emergency Environment Committee on 15th April 2024, Councillor Elizabeth Grey’s official response was that it would not be possible to transplant or protect these trees. However, as can be viewed on the YouTube video I took recently, this was not the case. It appears Councillor Grey or her officers had made provision with Merseytravel to ensure that a nearby bus stop within the bounds of the demolition site received full protection from any potential damage. As for the six cherry trees, they were left unshielded. If you watch the video closely you can see that some of the branches were ripped from the trees by falling steel and masonry.
The following Wirral Council website link shows Councillor Elizabeth Grey’s membership of the “Mersey Forest Group”:
https://democracy.wirral.gov.uk/mgOutsideBodyDetails.aspx?ID=990
Should Councillor Grey now resign from the “Mersey Forest Group” having displayed her unwillingness to protect trees and instead her agreement to prevent a bus stop having its glossy yellow paintwork scratched? In light of these events, I also believe my councillor, Paul Stuart should consider removing Liz Grey from her influential position as Chair of the Council’s Environment Committee.”
Thanks Craig,
Paul
You’ll notice how my request to include a link to the YouTube video was ignored.
The second part of my comment, including the mention of Liz Grey resigning from both the “Mersey Forest Group” and her alleged ‘Environmental’ committee, was also ignored.
But I’ve come to expect not a lot from Newsquest. Their pisspoor, credulous staff have taken the opportunity to transform what should have been an alert to the public into yet another puff piece about Wirral Council’s proposals for the future.
It’s quite hideous, isn’t it? Gone are the days of the Wirral Globe reporting council scandal. I wonder what other examples of Wirral Council corruption, lies, nepotism, dishonesty, cronyism, lies, cover-ups, failure and more lies never made it into the pages of this useless, obedient, little puppy dog rag?
Also, most people suffering during this cost of living crisis cannot afford to subscribe to the Wirral Globe. They’ve decided to place this story behind a PAYWALL. So yet more obstacles have been placed in front of ever holding this crooked place accountable!
The Council never paid a penny of our council tax for this bollocks and will be extremely pleased with such a highly positive outcome. Cheers Jamie / Craig, on a job well done.
Let’s just remind ourselves of this:
UPDATE 1st May 2024
The trees STILL survive, but they’re now surely ‘on death row’, awaiting Councillor Liz Grey’s – member of the Mersey Forest Steering Group – roaring chainsaw …
9th May UPDATE
The trees have now been destroyed. Here’s a YouTube video of the aftermath, along with some commentary:
And here’s an email I sent this morning to test the character of the Mersey Forest Steering Group of which Councillor Liz Grey is a member:
Here’s the latest (and final) video on this, dated 8th June 2024:
Return to Bomb Alley 1982 – The Falklands Deception, by Paul Cardin
Amazon link
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