SOUTHEND Council has suspended its tree culling programme after furious complaints from residents.

The announcement made by councillor Carole Mulroney means unless a tree poses an immediate risk to a property it will not be removed.

She said: “Street trees pose far more challenges than garden or park trees and there are genuine reasons why trees sometimes have to be removed and cannot always be replaced in the same place, such as the presence of underground cables and pipes, which were never a consideration when the original trees were planted.

“Removing trees is always the last resort and officers work on the principle of the 5Ds - namely they would only remove a tree that is dead, dying, diseased, decayed or dangerous.

“Structural damage to buildings or paths or conditions of a planning permission may also require a tree to be removed.”

However the programme of cutting down trees has left many roads bare and residents angry.

On Westbourne Grove in Westcliff, David Corroyer, 60, said that more than half of the mature trees lining the street have been chopped down in the 28 years he has lived in there.

He said: “This announcement is welcome but it is almost an admission that there is an issue with their policy.

“I have been talking to the tree surgeons who have told me that they have cut down the trees because they are diseased, have a hollow core and are dangerous.

“But once they are down you can see that there is nothing wrong with them.”

He added: “I have felt for some time that the council has had a policy of tree felling to reduce the costs of maintenance. It is more cost effective to just chop them down.”

A founder of Southend Extinction Rebellion, Alicia Hegarty, 57, said: “I am delighted to hear this.

“It is fantastic news that the council has listened to the residents of Southend who care deeply about their neighbourhood.”

“I intend to do everything possible to put the ‘tree’ back into ‘street’ and ensure the borough’s green canopy is maintained and improved.

Tory councillor Meg Davidson said: “The council is better at telling us about the trees it is planning to cut down than the new trees it is going to plant.”