Campaigners who have occupied a plot of land in Margate to protest at the planned felling of a Sycamore tree have created a stage, treating passers-by to some live music this afternoon (April 28).
Members of Save the Duke Street Tree moved onto the Duke Street plot yesterday and say they intend to be on site day and night as they stage their protest.
Permission to fell the tree was originally given in 2018 as part of an approval for a planning application to develop the site.
A notification of works this month was submitted by Duns Developments, based in Luton, for removal of the tree to clear the site ahead of building a four-storey property with five flats and a commercial unit.
The area the tree is in was one of two plots that were earmarked as garden sites under a Countdown to Turner scheme in 2011. However despite a spend of £7,881 on design, consultation and soil sample for the site and another at Cobbs Place, the gardens did not come to fruition.
The site was then sold at auction and permission subsequently granted for the flats development.
Members of the Thanet Trees and Mature Trees Matter facebook groups mounted a campaign to save the tree.
Campaigners of Save The Duke Street Sycamore say they will pursue legal action and have now spoken to a barrister. A petition has been launched and work is taking place on a fundraiser.
Meanwhile campaigners continue their occupation of the site and have been entertaining themselves and passers-by with music by duo Elephant’s Eye on their ‘main stage.’ Numbers included a rendition of Revolution by The Beatles.
The group has also made an appeal on their facebook page for a fire pit as temperatures are expected to be chilly this evening.
Thanet council says: “Consent to approve the felling of the sycamore tree in Duke Street, Margate was granted by the Planning Committee in June 2018, prior to the council’s Climate Emergency declaration.
“At the time, greater weight was given to using the site, which is in a Conservation Area, in a positive way and the recent notice to the council of intention to fell the tree took this previous permission and full planning analysis into consideration.”
The authority says it will be working hard to ensure more trees are planted across the district.
I know where there’s an old sycamore that can go in the fire pit to keep them warm.
they are only glorified weeds any way , every where the seeds land they send up suckers.and who are these protestors ? not that lot from greenham common is it.
So an open fire at ground level amongst lots of buildings, that’ll be a nuisance to a number of people i’d guess, not to mention particulate pollution , has that been considered by the eco prostestors?
The beautiful people.
And what would they be burning in the fire pit ?
Wood ? I doubt it ( they love trees )
Coal ? I doubt it ( fossil fuel )
Peat ? I doubt it ( fossil fuel )
Are bonfires allowed in a built up area ?
Why do they want to increase pollution ?
Do they need a music license to play for the public ?
All this for a weed tree lol
‘Save A Tree’ protest camp surrounded by wooden furniture, wooden signs and wooden musical instruments – Hypocrites. It’s the equivalent to taking your slave to a BLM protest.
Kind people taking action to give up time to protect all of our futures. Protect the trees protect the planets future. Get educated. Plenty of science now on climate change and it’s all saying the same. If we lucky we got 30 years before massive extinction. Covid just a a taster.
It’s a sycamore, it’s not an indigenous tree, it’s nothing more than a invasive pest… chop it down and plants 10 more native trees… move on already…
It’s the sheer hypocrisy that gets me.
They’re arguing the case that this tree is vital for our climate and environment, yet they want a fire pit! To burn some sort of fossil fuel – probably wood – producing damaging CO2.
We certainly do need to be aware of climate change and its consequences. Keeping a tree will do next to nothing. Stopping flying and driving cars will.
If these people are so concerned about trees. Why not give up on this self sown tree, that in the end it will be cut down. In the end The Newbury bypass was built, as is all large road and building projects. That are slowed down by Protestors. A much better project for them, is to help water the hundreds of new trees being planted across Thanet. In parks and green spaces. or are they too busy pointlessly sitting around this one tree, burning wood and using wooden pallets to keep the rain and sun off themselves. Has anybody told them their plastic tarpaulins and tents are shedding millions of tiny particles that will end up in the soil or sea?
Save a tree kill the planet!
That’s an excellent suggestion, Paul Round, and walking or cycling to the new saplings would be very good exercise.
What you going to burn in your fire pit ? …wood!
So many cynical comments. At least these people are acting on their beliefs letting the authorities know how they feel. Council departments get away with going against the local communities as too many just roll over and kick their feet in the air whenever the authorities tell you No.
Maybe it’s more of the case that turner centre was using it the site to create a garden,£7800 spent on it yet nothing there then instead TDC sell for over the price… Sounds like another back hander, not local buyer’s there from Luton… But good for them stand your ground
Cop it down redevelop the whole area, demolish all the filthy squalid area and rebuild and do the same to Similar areas of Ramsgate and Broadstairs. These old buildings will only get older, get rid create a new town on the foundations of the old.
CHOP NOT COP
well said fred . i could not agree more , this area is a glorified slum . all this talk about art and art gallerys , just face the place has had it , and its not coming back , have a look at king street in ramsgate – its like the deprived areas of london , cliftonville is bandit country ,who would want to come here ? , keep up the good work work fred at least you tell it like it is !
People with monet from London want to come here, that’s who. They like the quaint old town of Margate with it’s listed buildings and little shops. The peace and tranquility of a seaside town compared with the big smoke. Prices have stayed steady on homes in the area because of the continued interest.
Flats and thousands of homes are being built all over Thanet now because people are coming whether you like it or not.
The local authority planning dept needs to weigh up homes with the environment in Thanet before it’s too late and all that there is here is huge joined up concrete jungle. These planning officers need to wake up quickly and follow the correct procedures. They need a new manager who has experience of planning and can put down conditions on the developers to achieve a level measured plan that will be good for all in Thanet and not just the money making developer. We need schemes that include green spaces and tree-lined avenues where they are allowed to grow to maturity. Thanet desperately needs more trees and the ones that are already here need protecting from greedy developers from out of town.
What’s wrong with King Street? I walk along it most days. if people had kept on using the shops, they’d still be there. I hope the flats planned for the old pub site will start to be built soon.
King St, get up early, the rubbish is knee deep the whole place is rat infested, both four and two legged.
Living in London for many years and enjoying the thriving new art areas of Margate since moving over 10 years ago. I am still surprised at the uncultured comments of no support to keep Margate’s history. The Margate museum and architecture of the buildings in the old town are amazing including the tree! If you don’t like it move to elephant and castle. Plenty of concrete and hardly any trees. Enjoy
I suggest you take your party farty ideas back to whence you came, the idea of old slums be architectural is pathetic if are concerned about Margates history look at the churches , parks, cemetery , the edge of town countryside, and by the way the toilet block called Turner is a concrete blot on a once picturesque harbour
It’s only humans that make them slums. A bit of tlc and any area can be made beutiful again. Being interested in culture and the environment is surely a positive. I really find it difficult to find a negative unless you want to live in a baron wasteland?
Ordinary domestic architecture is as historically significant as churches, castles, country houses etc. Industrial building are important too.
Your comment about the Turner is of course your personal opinion.
well said as always fred , its nice to hear from someone that lives in the real world ! you are spot on about that turner monstrosity , and why margates claims him i fail to see , he turned up everywhere including various countrys abroad , i suppose its like the charles dickens syndrome in broadstairs ? , say something often enough and you will believe yourself, great comment about king street as well .
How about a memorial to cv19 victims in Dane Park then the tree huggers can look after it as well ad the newly planted trees
Oh and a band stand with live music throughout the summer,plenty of local brass bands etc.
If you hate the Margate area so much you can always shoot off to somewhere else and live among the concrete slums. There are plenty more who love Margate.
I love Thanet. Yes i lived in London and moved here. But I grew up in Kent. I decided to move to London as a teenager because I was fed up with small minded mentality of a Kent town. Embrace the nature you have around you and protect it. That’s why I moved back to Kent. I want nature for myself and children. Open you minds and protect what’s around you.
Generations of my family have here forever 400 years, the love is now the pits, and so are a lot of the residents, scrum of the earth.
Place not love