Some of Newtown’s favourite trees have been felled in a park as they pose a risk to public safety and the structure of a bridge.

At least three trees in Dolerw Park have been chopped down following advice from a tree surgeon that the bases were hollow caused by ground erosion, and one tree was leaning on Dolerw bridge which was causing concern.

Open Newtown has hit back at critics making "false and outlandish claims" including one person who had raised concerns about the tree felling with environment body Natural Resources Wales.

Natural Resources Wales has confirmed that its Forest Regulation and Tree Health Team received a report of alleged illegal felling at the park.

County Times: A tree was felled near the Dolerw Park bridge in Newtown following concerns for public safety. Picture by Gavin Grosvenor/County Times [December 20, 2022]

Open Newtown, the organisation which manages 130 acres of land in the town said it will plant 10 saplings for every tree lost. More than 2,000 native and fruit trees have been planted across the Newtown since 2019.

“We were extremely sad to have to remove some trees on Dolerw Park,” Open Newtown said. “We were acting on the advice of an independent tree consultant. It was too dangerous to leave them as they were, for public safely and protecting the structure of the bridge.

“As is our duty we reported the matter to council's planning department and the public prior to appointing a contractor.

“Sadly, a small number of people took to social media to make false and outlandish claims about us as an organisation, claiming we didn’t know what we were doing and that we didn’t have authority or experience to make such decisions.

“One of the complainants reported the matter to Natural Resources Wales.

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“This is NRW’s response '…we accept the tree safety report that states that the trees were in need of remedial work to make safe. As a result of this, we would exempt them from needing a felling licence under the Forestry act.'

“We have no desire to cut trees down. This is an extremely costly exercise. Far from it, we plan to plant more trees on top of the 2,500 native and fruit trees already planted across the 130 acres that we manage.

“If anyone wishes to contact us about any matters or concerns please feel free to use the feedback form on our website - https://opennewtown.org.uk/feedback-form/”