Palm trees that have welcomed visitors to the “English riviera” for a century have been cut down without warning in an act that residents have described as “pure vandalism”.
The felling of 40 trees in Torquay, Devon, has provoked a furious public outcry and accusations that the council has wrought a “soul-destroying”, “total destruction” of the seaside front.
The beloved palms that some local people say are synonymous with the seaside town – the hapless hotel manager Basil Fawlty even boasted about them in an episode of Fawlty Towers – have stood in the Italian Gardens, which look out over Torre Abbey Sands, since they were first planted in 1924.
But dozens of them have been chopped down to their stumps without consultation or notice by Torbay council as part of the restoration of the gardens ahead of its 100th anniversary next year.
Writing on social media, one resident said: “There appears to be an agenda against our much-loved palm trees – Torbay’s iconic and symbolic image.”
Another wrote: “There is no scenario or even universe, where felling palm trees is a good thing. Soulless council unfit for purpose.”
The councillor Adam Billings admitted the council had “dropped the ball” on reminding the public about the plans and shared the frustration of residents. He said: “You can appreciate if you were in my shoes, you’d be equally disappointed. It’s clearly not the standard that our local community or indeed the cabinet member expects of the council.”
The council has promised that the garden will be transformed over the winter and into the spring, with more planting scheduled. It said the palms had showed signs of significant degradation in the past 20 years and work was being carried out by its contractors to upgrade the site.
Public consultation in 2019 identified the Italian Gardens as a priority for restoration, but the scheme was delayed due to the pandemic.
The incident mirrors a similar controversy when 110 trees were removed under cover of darkness in March 2023 in Plymouth as part of the re-landscaping of the city’s Armada Way. It led to the resignation of the council’s Conservative leader.
It is not the first time Torquay’s palms have proved a prickly subject. In 2009, palms were uprooted from a flowerbed near the harbour and others were moved in a scene a councillor at the time described as “carnage”.
In that instance, the trees were cleared to prevent crime and antisocial behaviour taking place in their shadows. Three years before that, there was outrage when fears were raised that palms placed in inappropriate positions could scratch passersby.
