Villagers are locked in a bitter planning row with housing developers as they fight to save a 'majestic' 140-year-old Victorian tree from being chopped down to make way for 500 homes. Residents are campaigning to save the 80ft (30m) cedar tree, valued by surveyors at £165,000, from being felled as part of a new estate being built in Keresley, Warks.
Permission was given to Bellway Homes last year to build 550 homes with more than 100 trees expected to be chopped down as part of the plans. But locals are furious that the giant cedar - which has a circumference of 160ft (50m) - is among those which will be lost as a result of the proposals.
They say the sprawling tree is home to tawny owls, hedgehogs, birds and other wildlife and also acts as sound barrier to passing traffic along Tamworth Road. More than 60 residents have now signed a petition which has been submitted to Coventry City Council ahead of the local authority's final decision on the plans in June.
