Petition to save 'Darwin's Oak' passes 11,000 signatures

Earlier this week Shropshire Council saw its plans for the North West Relief Road given the green light.

The proposal, to complete the ring road around Shrewsbury, will see the loss of nine veteran trees. Shropshire Council has said they will be replaced at a ratio of six to one.

One of those has been dubbed the Darwin Oak – a 500-year-old tree on the route of the road.

During the planning meeting at which it was approved, members were told the route could not be moved to save the tree because it would become too bendy, meaning it cannot be a 60mph road.

Campaigners gave the tree its name due it being located upon a route supposedly followed by a young Charles Darwin on his walks in the area as a young man.

Now, Rob McBride, the man dubbed 'Shropshire's Tree Hunter' has launched a petition calling for a re-think over the road.

In it he states: "We, the undersigned, call upon Shropshire Council to shelve plans to fell the Darwin Oak, a 550-year-old, open-grown, ancient oak tree threatened with felling by a proposed new road scheme known as the North West Relief Road at Shrewsbury, Shropshire."

The petition sets out campaigners' beliefs over the tree's links to the famed naturalist, stating: "Even as an eight-year-old, Charles Darwin – born nearby at The Mount – already had a taste for natural history and collecting. He walked extensively along the banks of the River Severn and the bucolic lanes and fields around Shelton Rough.

"It is hard to believe that he would not have known the already-aged and significant landmark oak tree (350 years old by then). Almost certainly, he would have sat under or even clambered up the spreading boughs of this majestic ancient oak tree, perhaps contemplating his future famous scientific works."

It adds: "The road will decimate one of the last vestiges of beautiful countryside extending almost to the heart of the county town and widely known as Shrewsbury’s ‘Green Wedge’."

The petition also outlines how the nature of the 'large-canopy' open-grown tree is significantly more effective in taking in carbon, than saplings or forest trees.

It states: "It is widely accepted that large-canopy, open-grown trees like the Darwin Oak sequester way more CO2 than thousands of saplings that will most probably die from lack of aftercare, as has been clearly demonstrated on recent large infrastructure projects like HS2 and the Cambridge A14 road upgrade project."

Speaking to the Shropshire Star Mr McBride said: "We should be keeping every mature veteran tree we possibly can within sensible proportions."

He added: "I was quite shocked when they voted totally on party lines, to me it was a sham meeting if you are just going to vote on party lines."

But, writing on social media, the man who was in charge of the council's bid to build the North West Relief Road until July this year, offered a different view.

Richard Marshall, who was the council's cabinet member for highways until he stepped down as Conservative Councillor for Worfield, told campaigners "I think we have to put things in to perspective and a few trees shouldn’t halt progress."

One campaigner responded by highlighting the benefits of the trees, and that they are "much older" than the former councillor, adding: "They just cannot be replaced."

Replying Mr Marshall said: "So was my Nan but she didn’t last forever."

Speaking after the decision to approve the plans Mr Marshall added: "Right decision, now lets get on with it."

The petition can be found at https://www.change.org/p/save-the-darwin-oak