Decision made about St Leonards Road cedar tree

A cedar tree in St Leonards Road, Windsor, is to undergo a sympathetic reduction of its crown in order to allow it the opportunity to live out its natural life.

The tree provoked differences of opinion after representatives for the two properties nearest to the cedar claimed the tree was responsible for subsidence and cracks in their houses and that a potential solution was to remove it.

Ward councillors and a number of Windsor residents voiced their desire to keep the tree. A counter-argument was the potentially high cost to council taxpayers.

The council made the decision to reduce the crown following a thorough investigation into the various options and their costs.

The crown reduction, costing about £1,000, will be carried out in the next few weeks, followed by repairs to the houses, estimated at £50,000.

Representatives of the properties affected support the decision providing there is no further damage to the properties caused by the tree.

The success or failure of the action will be subject to ongoing assessment. If damage to the properties continues despite the reduction then the council will need to re-appraise the situation.

Cllr Christine Bateson, Cabinet Member for Planning and Partnerships, said: "We are delighted that we are able to offer this popular Windsor landmark a reprieve so that it can be enjoyed for the foreseeable future - while at the same time offering a way forward to the problems experienced by the householders.

"There was no obvious, natural solution but rather a decision based on weighing up the varied technical and financial pros and cons along with the wishes of residents.

"Like many others, I hope this course of action is successful."

The other options considered were:
• to leave the tree as it is and deal with compensation claims from the house owners for continuing damage - which could have meant an estimated bill of £180,000
• remove the tree while still paying for repairs to the houses, a total estimated cost of about £53,000.

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