Windsor weeps for willow: Flurry of concerns that felled tree did not have to go

A flurry of concerns has blown in regarding of the controversial felling of a beloved 100-year-old willow tree in Windsor.

This ‘beautiful’ towering tree stood on the corner of York Avenue and York Road, until recently.

The discovery of a wood decay fungi, known as Chicken of the Woods, led council tree officers to determine that the protected tree would need felling.

Last month, the Express reported on residents pleading with the council to postpone this so they could fund an ultrasound of the tree out of their own pocket, to verify the extent of the damage – hoping to avoid the need to cut it down completely.

But the council pushed ahead, citing safety reasons from leaving it as it is.

Residents called the move ‘heartbreaking’ and the day of the chop ‘a very sad day.’

Now people who witnessed the felling have said they were ‘shocked and frustrated’ to witness that the main trunk of the tree did not show the obvious signs of decay they had expected.

^{The tree looking 'healthy' by some onlookers' reckoning. Photo shared by John Webb.}

On Facebook, the Royal Borough Conservatives and Windsor MP Jack Rankin were among those to chime in with criticisms.

“If it was so unsafe, why no fencing, why no warnings, why wait a month to act?” they asked.

They were not the only ones to raise these very concerns, with other Windsor residents and councillors also piping up.

Overall there were about 200 comments in total across several posts, photos and videos of the felling.

Cllr Richard Coe, cabinet member for household and regulatory services, replied to some of the concerns, saying it was ‘not factually correct’ to say that the tree’s trunk was not decayed.

Water absorption tests demonstrated the presence of decay in the stump, he said.

^{A picture shared by Lib Dem cabinet members, showing more obvious signs of decay.}

But widespread disquiet continued, with many residents convinced that an ultrasound was the only way to definitively determine how much of the tree was damaged, based on their own interactions with tree experts.

Responding to the outcry Clewer East councillors Amy Tisi and Karen Davies (who is also the cabinet member for climate change and biodiversity) wrote a post saying they had ‘strongly challenged’ the felling at first.

But council tree officers monitored the willow ‘for a long time’, had already topped it to prolong its life, and were ‘adamant’ there was no other management possible and it had reached the end of its life.

The councillors ‘would have gladly supported’ the ultrasound’ but the experts ‘felt the prognosis was clear,’ they added.

If a test had been done, it ‘maybe’ could have bought a few months for the willow but ‘we would be back in the same situation in a few months’ time,’ they said.

The councillors also quoted a contractors’ report denying claims from witnesses of the felling that contractors made statements confirming there wasn’t as much decay as they expected.

“No comments were made that refute the established presence of fungal decay,” contractors said, according to the councillors.

“Several significant cavities were observed within the main stem.

“These were extensive enough for the attending climber to insert their entire foot into one of the hollows, clearly demonstrating a severe loss of structural integrity.”

In place of the willow, a replacement tulip tree sapling will be planted this year.

^{The willow tree as it was before, with those who hoped to save it.}