Two huge willow trees have been chopped down near Temple Meads this week with some calling the destruction "criminal", “barbaric" and "shameful". The majestic duo which occupied the southern bank of the Floating Harbour, near Meads Reach Bridge at Temple Quay, was removed yesterday (November 30) to make way for a floating pontoon walkway.
The walkway will provide a shared pedestrian and cycleway between Temple Meads ferry landing and Cattle Market Road, according to the approved planning permission granted by Bristol City Council (BCC) in 2019. Plans state that it will be 450m long and four metres wide, with lighting and a 1.4m tall safety barrier.
Photographer Jeremy Fennell, 68, said of the tree removal: "This is an utterly shameful episode that highlights the fact that Bristol City Council appears to have a very inconsistent attitude to our green areas. This area has very few trees and these particular specimens were a beautiful piece of greenery in an otherwise soulless concrete jungle. Nature and the environment just feel like an inconvenience."
