Basingstoke and Deane council fells oak tree in Tadley

The large oak in New Road, Tadley, was chopped down between the early hours of the evening on Tuesday, July 7, into the early hours of Wednesday, July 8, after Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council said it had developed a serious structural fault, posing an immediate danger to the public.

One resident, Sarah Pierpoint, said the way the work was handled had left people feeling blindsided, calling it "suspicious."

She said: "We had a beautiful old oak tree in New Road, it was saved before after a petition. But now, it's been felled, and we weren't even told.

The morning after... Just a pile of logs (Image: Sarah Pierpoint)

"Obviously, they were expecting people to object, because they had the police there with them. It was felled overnight at 3.30am, I find that suspicious.

"It was a magnificently huge tree. It may have been dangerous and needed to come down, but why do it overnight?"

The tree has a history of controversy. In November 2020, the council proposed felling it, citing reports of subsidence damage to nearby properties, but one affected homeowner later disputed that justification, saying the benefit of removing the tree had passed years earlier and that he had not asked for it to be removed.

The tree when it was saved in 2020

A petition launched by Tadley resident Carol Monaghan gathered more than 900 signatures and led the council to reverse its decision, with a spokesperson at the time saying the "overwhelming response from the public was that the tree should remain."

This time, however, the council says the situation was very different, and that safety concerns left no room for consultation.

A spokesperson for Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council said: "Reluctantly, we have had to remove a large oak tree on New Road in Tadley, following serious safety concerns.

The tree pre-felling

"During a routine tree inspection, concerns were identified about the condition of the tree, which had developed a significant split in its stem. This prompted the council to commission an independent assessment, which concluded that the tree presented an immediate risk to road and path users."

The spokesperson added that Hampshire County Council's Highways team implemented an emergency road closure to allow the work to be carried out safely, and that "due to the urgency of the situation, there was no opportunity to provide information to local residents before the work started."

The council said contractors were mobilised and began work at around 5pm, working through the evening and into the early hours to remove the tree and reopen the road as quickly as possible.

Workers felling the tree (Image: Trevor Idzerda)

The council said police officers attended the site "in response to noise complaints from local residents" — not in anticipation of a protest.

The council said: "We recognise that this equipment is noisy and apologise for the disturbance caused to nearby residents.

"The council always aims to protect and preserve its trees wherever reasonably possible, particularly trees of such exceptional landscape value.

"We understand and share residents' sadness at the loss of this significant oak tree. However, the safety of residents and road users must remain our overriding priority."