Illustration by John Sadler www.johnsadlerillustration.com 

• I REFER to Mandy Womack’s letter (Camden is not doing enough to protect our trees) and, D Ward’s (Are we laying the foundations for a shanty-town London?), both Letters, January 13.

Camden’s pollarding policy is for council-owned trees and relates to areas of the borough that are prone to tree-related subsidence.

Pollarding reduces the height of the tree and makes it a more manageable size to maintain. Camden pollards trees on a two- or three-year cycle and work is carried out according to BS3998.

The felling of trees in rear gardens can add to the number of outbuildings, home offices, and studios built in them. Conservation areas try to keep these in check and thus prevent “shanty towns”.

EILEEN WILLMOTT, NW5