VISITORS to Simmons Park may notice a couple of old friends missing from the park. Several trees have had to be felled in the last month ? including a large beech tree on the far side of the river. A striking oak tree near the bowling green has also been ?topped?, by having the upper part of its limbs removed. The loss and partial removal of the trees has caused upset and concern among residents. West Devon Borough councillor John Young said that several people had expressed their concern over the oak, in particular, to him. Cllr Young said: ?The oak was around 150 years old and seemed to be in a very good condition. It now looks like it?s been clumsily attacked and left in a most unsatisfactory state.? But Okehampton town councillor Christine Marsh told the Times that the trees had been diseased and unsafe. ?We had a proper tree survey done, which recommended that the trees should be taken down completely,? she said. ?The oak is a diseased tree, but we decided to give it a chance. Topping the tree means that it will still grow, but it won?t go so high, so there won?t be such a strain on its roots.? She said that both the large beech tree and the oak tree were in parts of the park where they could cause serious injury if they were to fall ? a risk that the council could not ignore. ?It?s been a great disappointment to both myself and the park keeper that the trees had to go,? Cllr Marsh said. ?But they don?t last forever, and we are now planting new trees that in 50 years? time will give just as much pleasure.? In the future, she added, the council will post notices on the trunks of any trees that need to be felled, to explain the full situation to the public.
