Jane Leggett tied to a lime tree on Thursday

PROTESTERS have tied themselves to trees in Highgate in a protest to stop them being felled by a developer who is looking to build seven homes.

A group from the Haringey Tree Protectors were at the site on Thursday morning in Townsend Yard, off Highgate High Street, after workers appeared to try and cut two limes and a copper beech tree down.

They are due to face the tree surgeon’s chainsaw because of an application, approved by Haringey Council, to build seven homes and yards in Townsend Yard, near a Grade-II listed 17th century cottage. It means garages will be torn down and Jane Hill, the owner of the cottage, will face years of disruption and fears damage to her home.

The activists were on site on Sunday to raise awareness about the deciduous trees’ plight, holding banners saying “Stop the chop of our mature trees”. The trees are subject to protection orders.

Another protester secures himself up a tree in Highgate

Jane Hill, who has lived in the cottage since 2001, said: “These trees are the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night, and in this house I can see them at almost every stage.

“It would be the most terrible loss if they were taken down, and I don’t know why they should be. Haringey decided they were deserving of protection before – what has changed? I’ll need the privacy and cover they provide when there are seven houses at the bottom of my garden more than I did before, when they were listed! It makes no sense.”

An application to build the homes at the foot of Ms Hill’s garden was approved in 2020 by Haringey Council, despite objections by civic bodies including the Highgate Society.

The council had earlier put protection orders on the trees, partly because of their ability to be seen by others and their contribution to the area, but now it has approved them being cut down.

An additional piece of approval from Haringey is needed as tearing down the garages that neighbours Ms Hill’s home would also impact on her four-storey cottage due to a shared wall – which is listed in its own right.

Last year Ms Hill held a sale of antiques and treasure salvaged from skips and roadsides as the plans mean the shed she had used for storing them would be demolished.

Protesters Marcus, Crissy, Jane and Alicia in Townsend Yard on Sunday taking a stand against the move to fell five mature tree [Jo Syz]

She moved to Townsend Yard with her late husband, the left-wing journalist and author Alan Brien, from Northamptonshire 21 years ago. Mr Brien died in 2008.

The cottage – thought to be the oldest in Highgate – once doubled as a home for sheep that were kept in the basement before being taken to Smithfield market.

Ms Hill said: “This has been the worst trauma since Alan’s death. But I will go on fighting this for as long as I can, because I just think these proposals are wrong in every conceivable way.”

Jane Leggett, one of the tree protesters, said: “It seems that the council has just caved in to the developer and revoked a TPO [tree preservation order] for both trees. We thought that they deserved our attention and raising awareness about what is happening to them.

“With the climate crisis we know about the benefits of having trees to clean the air and provide cover. They say that there will be some planting of one tree at the front, but we can’t understand where it will be, that’s without taking into account that it is still the loss of four others and none of these will offer the same protection to Jane.”

Hornsey and Wood Green MP Catherine West visited Ms Hill’s home last week. She has written to Haringey and asked the council to address Ms Hill’s concerns as well as holding a meeting with building control to discuss her concerns.

Councillor Dana Carlin, Haringey’s housing chief, said that a decision on the listed building consent was expected this week. She said: “Planning permission has been approved for new homes on this site in accordance with Haringey’s Local Plan. Work can go ahead where planning permission has been granted.

“However, the listed building consent application has not yet been determined due to a detailed more recent submission made by the applicant as well as a number of objections.

“We are determined to maintain tree cover across the borough and to preserve trees wherever possible. On considering this application, our arboriculturist (tree expert) examined the trees on site and determined that they are now of low quality when assessed against the British standard.

“However, we will ensure that the trees surrounding the site are preserved and will seek to ensure these trees are replaced as part of the landscaping proposals.”

A later statement by Haringey Council has now said that a decision on the listed building consent will now be given “soon”, after one was not made last week. They added that the arboriculturist was an external consultant, rather than a member of staff.

“It is expected to be determined soon,” they said.