More than 2,200 people sign a petition to save 160 healthy trees from being felled in South Tyneside

More than 2,200 people have signed a petition in an effort to save 160 mature trees on the South Shields Marine School site from being felled.

At the time of writing, 1,480 people have signed the online petition, with 800 more signing a paper petition urging the mature trees to be saved on the Grosvenor Road site.

Fears have been raised that the healthy trees will be removed from the site when the school building is demolished.

The planning application submitted by Avant Homes states that the demolition zones for the buildings will result in the removal of more than half of the individual trees at the site.

Supporters of the petition are urging Avant Homes to include the trees into the plans in order to not fell them.

Colin Porter, who lives near to the Grosvenor Road site, is leading the efforts and has highlighted that the trees were there before the current school buildings were even built.

The 64-year-old said: “People are up in arms about this, we’re constantly getting told that by the public that we need to go everything we can to save as many trees as possible because if we lose them, it will have a huge biological impact on the local area.

“Most of the trees on the site were there before they built the college. If they were able to build round them then, why can’t they build round them now?

“On Grosvenor Road, there is a weeping beech tree that has been there for generations and now Avant Homes want to fell it just to allow the demolition vehicles access to the site.

“It is a crime if that is allowed to be chopped down, this is essentially our Sycamore Gap and saving of these trees need to be included in the plans.

“We understand the need for more housing and we aren’t against that but there needs to be some protection given to the trees.”

Read South Tyneside’s news on the go with our free email newsletters - bringing the headlines to your inbox. Catch up on the day’s news and sport and enjoy even more from your Gazette. Visit our website here to find out more and sign up.

Rachael Milne, the Green Party Councillor for the Biddick and All Saints ward, is calling for another assessment to be carried out to see if the trees can be saved.

Cllr Milne commented: “It is the opinion of several tree surgeons that with adequate root protection in place it could be feasible to maintain the Grosvenor Road trees.

“I ask for a separate demolition company to conduct an assessment to determine if the trees on Grosvenor Road can be preserved during demolition.

“I can confirm South Tyneside Tree Officers are working hard to protect as many trees as possible here as I recently met with them.”

Avant Homes has told the Shields Gazette that it is working with South Tyneside Council over the future of the trees.

A spokesperson for Avant Homes North East said: “We are currently liaising with South Tyneside Council regarding our planning application for the South Shields Marine School site on Grosvenor Road.

“As part of this, we are in ongoing discussions regarding the trees at the site and will continue to engage with the local authority on this matter throughout the planning process.”

You can view the online petition by visiting: https://www.change.org/p/help-save-healthy-mature-trees-from-housing-development-south-tyneside-college-site.