“We could have saved more trees”: Council approves loss of 26 trees to build cycle lane — but “saddened” authority says felling due to residents rejecting reduced road width

A council has confirmed that 26 trees will now be cut down and replaced with 32 new saplings to make way for a cycle lane — and while residents have been protesting against the bike lane, even organising the UK’s largest tree hug and garnering support from Sir David Attenborough, the council has argued that the trees could’ve been saved if the residents agreed to a reduction in the width of the highway.

The Binley Cycleway saga has been rumbling on for more than a year now. On one side of the battle lines is Coventry City Council, who claim to have done everything in their power to reason with the residents and propose an extension to a popular cycle lane that saves trees and provides safer cycling infrastructure, and on the other, the residents, who accuse the council of spreading “misinformation” and say that a bike lane on Clifford Bridge Road is a “recipe for disaster”, as cyclists would become “sitting ducks” for motorists accessing driveways.

But after a number of headline-grabbing twists and turns, the saga looks to be heading towards a somewhat tepid climax, as the BBC reports that the council approved the felling of the 26 trees to finally add a long-delayed final section of the £12 million Binley Cycleway, a 6km-long route connecting the Coventry town centre to University Hospital.

> Hundreds sign petition slamming decision to “sacrifice 26 irreplaceable trees” to make way for “dangerous, little used” cycle lane that “adds to pollution” – but council says more trees will be planted in their place

The revised plan was signed off yesterday after multiple redesigns by Councillor Patricia Hetherton, the cabinet member for city services, following drawn-out opposition from the residents, who said that the authority had listened to residents and made changes based on their feedback.

“I’m saddened we’re losing those trees,” she said. “If we reduced the width of the highway, we could have saved more trees. But clearly the residents didn't want that, and as a consequence we're having to lose more trees.”

The cycle lane had recently made national headlines when more than 900 people showed up for an organised tree hug, breaking the record for the largest tree hug in the country, and demanding an alternative route be drawn up for the Cycleway that was “less destructive”.

> “They just don’t want a cycleway”: Campaigners criticised for staging country’s largest tree hug to block “destructive” bike lane plans — while suggesting it could be built by “lighting up” nature reserve

In September this year, the cycle lane protestors found an unexpected ally to their cause in the form of Sir David Attenborough, with the veteran broadcaster and environmental campaigner writing to an 11-year-old boy advising him on how to stage a protest to halt the protected bike lane’s construction, remarking that it would be a “shame” if the city council went ahead with plans to cut down 26 trees.

“I can well understand your reaction on hearing of the council’s plan to fell the trees you describe,” the 98-year-old told the schoolboy, before suggesting that he contact the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust for help with his campaign. “They may be able to advise you on how to organise a protest.”

However, the council has said that the 32 saplings which are set to replace the trees would provide “greater long-term benefits”. Cllr Hetherton was also asked about what Sir David would think of her decision, to which she replied: “I think Sir David would be thrilled to bits that we're doing a cycle path that gets people out of cars and on to cycles.

“The devil is always in the detail and when you give people a headline, they can respond accordingly. But when you actually show them what you're trying to do, it has a different impact.”

The council said that it expects about 200 cyclists a day to use the Clifton Bridge Road section of the route once it has been built, with a report noting that collisions resulting in injury had reduced across the previously completed sections of the cycleway.

A few weeks ago, former West Midlands Cycling and Walking Commissioner Adam Tranter called the anti-bike lane campaigners’ motives into question, suggesting that the protest to save the trees could be a smokescreen to deflect from some of the resident’s wishes to simply not have the cycle lane built there.

“I think it is worth noting that previous designs of the cycleway instead narrowed general traffic lanes and moved parking, leaving trees as they are, but these were also ‘rejected’,” Tranter said. “I am afraid, the truth is, they just don’t want a cycleway.”

“To avoid having a cycleway along Clifford Bridge Road, campaigners also suggested to me that we build the cycleway on top of a nearby nature reserve - and light it up - which perhaps casts some doubt on their credentials for protecting nature.”

The original plans for the Binley Cycleway did not include the removal of the 26 trees. However, Coventry City Council was forced to redesign the scheme three times due to complaints from locals about reduced parking provisions along the road and the proposed narrowing of lanes for motorists.

> ‘Tree-hugging’ cycle lane opponents ‘backed’ by David Attenborough accuse council of spreading “misinformation” – but local authority says trees are only being cut down because residents opposed loss of on-street car parking

Following Tranter’s comments and road.cc’s coverage of it, Dawn McCann, one of the leaders of the opposition to the planned Clifford Bridge Road cycleway, argued that the local authority was “misleading the public” by “putting out several untrue statements”, denying that the scheme’s original design was rejected by residents due to plans to cut the number of on-street car parking spaces.

McCann, who claimed that the current design is “unsafe” and that other parts of the cycleway are causing frequent collisions, also refuted the council’s claim that many of the 26 trees earmarked to be felled as part of construction works are infected with the disease Ash dieback, instead insisting that the trees are in “fine condition” and are simply, in the council’s eyes, “in the way”.

However, the head of public realm at Coventry City Council told road.cc that plans to cut parking spaces had made the scheme “unacceptable” to residents, while noting that other areas where the cycleway has been installed have led to a “significant reduction” in collisions, increasing safety for vulnerable road users.

The council has also maintained that the trees along the Clifford Bridge Road are set to die within the next decade and that their plans, which include planting more trees than are due to be felled, have been approved by the Wildlife Trust.