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Good grief, Torquay

amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
in The potting shed
Seems like a total carnage...will the council have the money to replace such mature palms? 
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/13/felling-of-torquay-famous-palm-trees-pure-vandalism-say-residents
To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
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  • madpenguinmadpenguin Posts: 2,543
    The palm trees have been there for nearly 100 years which is actually a bit more than their normal lifespan.
    The council will probably replace them with new specimens,they don't need to be mature as they will grow.
    Nothing lasts for ever and it was just that their time was up!

    “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I saw this yesterday and thought this is just the standard council approach of getting it done before anyone can complain. I really do wonder how things like this get approved and why there isn't someone who pipes up and says "how about we remove a few and replace them and just repeat over a number of years". I do wonder if any of them know that the stumps can well sprout again but then I guess that none of the people involved have any horticultural knowledge at all. 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    It's striking that they just come like thieves in the night to cut down the trees before there can be any public outcry. Like Sheffield.
  • rowlandscastle444rowlandscastle444 Posts: 2,612
    And Plymouth.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    There was, apparently, a public consultation in 2019 but it got lost in Covid and budget restraints.   They need to get on if they're to build the new garden for the centenary.

    It's not like they've butchered decent oaks and plane trees that have centuries of life left in them.  Besides, in my book, palm trees only manage to look half decent on a Caribbean beach and even then they can be tatty with torn leaves and dead bits.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Actually, IMO the Torquay palms looked rather wonderful, and, more importantly the locals loved them.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    Probably would have been better to phase the felling and replanting. However they were looking a bit haggard to say the least.


    The wildflower planting was temporary and will be replaced by restored Italianate beds with topiary and olive trees. Cordylines were not part of the original planting scheme and were probably added as spiky centrepiece features without the thought that they would eventually become large trees.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I'm not generally a big fan of palm-like plants and desert types of planting schemes, but I do think they look quite impressive as large trees, in a big seaside public space like that. To be sure, they could have done with a bit of care, removing dead leaves from time to time, and the wildflower meadow planting didn't look right with them, but a suitable planting scheme (maybe Mediterranean-style, I think it's mild enough down there) could have been put in around them. No need to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch, surely. Maybe they'll leave the roots in and let them regrow.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I'm not the biggest fan of cordylines but I don't think they were looking haggard at all. You can see in the pictures that they are covered in flower stalks and bees really love them. I also think that they weren't particularly big going by the crows sat on top and there is plenty of place for further planting like the olives. Is it a great idea to plant olives anyway. 
  • ViewAheadViewAhead Posts: 866
    Will olives be OK in all these prolonged wet periods we seem to be having? 

    I have no particular affection for cordylines, but the coastal SW seems a reasonably appropriate place for their location.  I guess time will tell as to whether the removal was justified, depending on how the new planting scheme looks. 
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