A new tulip tree has now been installed on the traffic island at the junction of London Road and Castlefield Road in Reigate.
Over the weekend the site was covered with a blue tarpaulin, where three cherry trees had previously stood before they were removed on Friday.
Those trees were themselves only installed in spring last year, to replace the previous elderly cherry tree that had a fungal infection.
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council said last week that the trees – installed in three varieties so as to extend the flowering period – had not had the expected impact and would have taken a “significant amount of time to mature”.
The new tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipefera) will be “more fitting for this highly visible location”, the council said.
Herbaceous perennials are also due to be put in, and the old trees will be moved to a location which needs replanting.
The council’s decision to change the trees so soon has been the subject of comment on social media, with some wondering about the cost (which we’ve asked about, and expect to hear back on shortly).
A Get Surrey article earlier today (Tuesday) reports that Reigate Business Guild thought the trees weren’t suitable replacements for the old one, given their size and the time they would need to mature. The guild fed this back to the council, with a dialogue then taking place. See Get Surrey’s article for quotes from the guild.
Links
All our articles about the trees
Get Surrey article on the removal of the three trees, with a quote from Reigate Business Guild
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