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CCP & BTCV join forces to prune Leylandii |
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Mrs. Watson’s house is surrounded by mature Leylandii trees which were set on fire by a group of young people.
This caused extensive damage to the trees and left a gaping hole. Shortly after this incident Mrs Watson was diagnosed with a tumour on the brain. Her son (who was 15 at the time) did his best to remove the damaged tress, but due to the size of the trees, the task was immense. Because of her medical condition Mrs Watson was unable to do the work herself or pay for tree surgeons to do it. In June 2007 Mrs Watson had the tumour removed and has been convalescing since. Her neighbours have been very understanding about the situation but were clearly unhappy with what had become an eyesore in their street. It was at this point that Cllr John Webster contacted CCP to see if there was anything the charity could do to assist. Due to the vulnerable nature of the mother and son, Cordell Ray, Chief Executive, set about gathering some helping hands to help make the situation better. Support came from both CCP and a number of other sources, including Theresa Watt from BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) who provided technical knowledge and tree felling equipment. Cheltenham Borough Homes have agreed to assist with the disposal of some of the vegetation. Theresa Watt from BTCV said “Because someone needed help and I had the skills and equipment, I was glad to assist.” “This demonstrates the importance of having the right trees in the right place… clearly these had become far too big for their location…. we would hope to plant some smaller tress or shrubs to take the place of the oversized leylandii.” Mrs Watson was overwhelmed with the support shown by the team of helpers. She said “This makes things look so much better and it’s a real weight of my mind. I was worried that they were going to fall down on something but just didn’t have the means to sort the problem out. This has been a fantastic effort and I really can’t thank these people enough for going above and beyond the call of duty.” Cordell Ray said “There is not enough good will and help for the most vulnerable in our society, certainly not for free. Here we had a lady recovering from a brain tumour with a son who had tried his best to sort out the problem. However, the job was massive and clearly too much for this family to deal with. We were willing and able to help. I have to say that we managed much more that I would have hoped and have made a very real difference to Mrs Watson and the residents of the street she lives in. We may need to return later in the year to fell 3 more trees which had birds nesting in them, and to assist with clearing any of the larger trunks still remaining. But for now it’s a good job well done.” If anyone would like to support the second phase or is able to assist with clearing the logs and branches, please get in touch with CCP. |
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