Brighton and Hove environmental group urges councillors to save the Seven Dials elm

Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth is calling on councillors to save the Seven Dials elm tree.

The healthy 150-year-old tree in Vernon Terrace, Brighton, was due to be chopped down as part of a scheme to try to make the busy Seven Dials junction safer.

But protests and a petition signed by more than 3,000 people persuaded Brighton and Hove City Council to pause and take another look at its plans.

As a result a decision on whether to spare the rare Wheatley elm will be taken at a meeting of the council’s Transport Committee tomorrow (Tuesday 30 April).

If the tree is retained, the council said that the extra £20,000 cost would have to be absorbed in the scheme’s overall budget.

Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth said: “The revised road layout is a good solution that should satisfy most people.

“While it will cost a little more now to implement the scheme, Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth believes that it will be money well spent.”

It said that the extra £20,000 could come from money allocated for installing electric vehicle charging points.

The group noted that electric vehicles were not being used in large numbers yet so that delaying the installation of further charging points was unlikely to create problems in the near future.

Chris Todd, from Brighton and Hove Friends of the Earth, said: “This is good news that officers have found a way of keeping both the elm tree and the Seven Dials scheme.

“We are urging councillors to support the recommendation to make these slight adjustments.

“The tree is worth the money as can be seen by the strength of public feeling.

“We are the guardians of the National Elm Collection and it is right we do everything we can to safeguard these important trees.

“In the longer term we would like to see an elm tree strategy developed so that we can strengthen our protection of this important asset to the city.”

The Transport Committee meeting is due to be held at 4pm tomorrow at Hove Town Hall in Norton Road, Hove.