• FURTHER to the letter by J Finlayson (Aggressive insurance companies are costing us trees, August 11) I was alerted last week by the excruciating noise of a chainsaw belonging to fellers who were taking down a mature London Plane, one of the biggest and most beautiful trees in the vicinity.

With the help of the Belsize Conservation Area Advisory Committee I found that an application had been submitted to Camden because the tree was believed to have caused root-induced clay shrinkage. The first application in 2020 had been rejected but a second, in 2021, had been approved.

With our weather changing, concluding that the roots of this tree were the sole cause of the issue is worrying for all other trees around. Surely these days there must be other solutions to try first before taking down a tree of this age and size. It is very sad.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED, NW3