‘Is it right to blame the trees for these accidents?’
15:02, 13 Jan 2026Updated 16:12, 13 Jan 2026
The lime tree on the left is earmarked for felling on Kings Road(Image: William Telford)
There are plans to chop down huge trees on a busy Plymouth road so crossings can be put in at an accident blackspot near the £21m Foulston Park development.
Plymouth City Council has earmarked four mature trees for removal on Kings Road where it plans to install two “humped” zebra crossings near City College Plymouth and the site of Plymouth Argyle’s new development for its academy and women’s team.
The council also aims to put speed humps along the road which has seen two fatal collisions and three other “serious” crashes in the past five years.
The plans, currently under construction, have been criticised by protest group Save the Trees of Armada Way (Straw) which has questioned whether tree removal is necessary to make the road safer and said the trees are healthy and could live for years yet.
The council said the crossings are part of the agreed planning conditions for Foulston Park and said: “The focus is now on making sure routes to and from the park are as safe as they can be.
“As part of the planning conditions, a number of highway improvements have to be carried out before the site can become operational.”
These three lime tree are earmarked for felling on Kings Road(Image: William Telford)
But it stressed: “Installing new crossings will unfortunately involve removing four trees – three common limes near the entrance of City College Plymouth and a London Plane on the corner of King’s Road and Stonehouse Bridge.”
The council said an independent arboriculturist carried out surveys of all the trees along King’s Road and this was used to balance putting in new crossings while “minimising environmental impact”.
A public consultation has begun on the plans for the crossings and road humps and also on the proposal to chop down the trees. It ends on January 23.
The council stressed that the limes are only expected to live for another 10 years anyway and one has been damaged by a vehicle crashing into it.
The London plane is expected to live for another 20 years, however, but is the “poorest specimen” in a clump of four such trees near the Stonehouse Bridge roundabout.
This London plane tree is earmarked for felling on Kings Road(Image: William Telford)
The council also said that under the plans, 19 new trees would be planted. Of these, 14 apple trees would be in a “community orchard” opposite the Shekinah building, and five others – a London plane, a common lime, a hornbeam, a hawthorne and an oak – would be planted near the Foulston Park development, opposite the running to Corea Terrace.
A notice on the London plane tree said the proposed scheme will “create a safer environment for all road users”.
The council said: “We are aware of how strongly people feel about protecting trees but need to balance this with the need to address locations with high accident records, the safety of all our residents as well as our legal obligations as a local authority.
“We are keen to be transparent and give as much information as possible about the trees, their health and mitigation measures intended to offset their loss.”
A Straw spokesperson said: “A fatal accident is undoubtedly a very tragic thing, but is it right to blame the trees for these accidents?”
And added: “The extent to which these tragic deaths are being used by Plymouth City Council to justify the loss of mature trees is worrying when the accidents were seemingly in no way influenced by the trees.”
A notice place on a London plane tree under threat on Kings Road(Image: William Telford)
Straw has also questioned whether trees, which could still live for years yet, should be given the chop.
The spokesperson said: “Sometimes trees need to be felled for development or for safety reasons but in this case, Plymouth City Council has not made the case to justify felling these trees and it appears that the decision to fell them has been made because it is convenient.
“The balance has not adequately considered the value or benefits provided by these trees. None of the trees on Kings Road planned to be felled have been classed as unsuitable for retention.
“The newly planted trees will not be providing the area or wildlife with the eco-system services these trees have for decades.”
Straw said the tree under threat near the roundabout is “at least 12metres” from a proposed crossing and said that, in Straw’s opinion, cutting it down “represents an appallingly lazy approach to urban design and the planning of the new crossing”.
The spokesperson said: “It shows no sign of balancing the benefits provided by this mature, amenity tree with the convenience of felling it.”
Information about the Kings Road proposal can be found at https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/traffic-and-road-safety-schemes
Comments can be submitted at www.plymouth.gov.uk/tro
Or by writing to: Service Director for Street Services (Plymouth Highways), Plymouth City Council, Ballard House, West Hoe Road, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ.
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