A woman who moved from the other side of the world to find her “perfect” home on a tree-lined street woke up yesterday to the sound of 60-year-old copper beeches being felled.
IT worker Rachel Martin flitted more than 11,350 miles from Christchurch in New Zealand to Aberdeen’s Murray Terrace with her academic husband Ben and children Daniel, 6, and Elizabeth, 9.
Mrs Martin said she had been told the trees had been scheduled for removal in 2008 because their roots were damaging the pavements.
The majority had been taken away but five remained – and the Australian hoped the council had “forgotten about” them.
But yesterday morning she found council workmen chopping down the trees.
Mrs Martin said: “We moved in October from New Zealand and the trees on the street were certainly a big reason why we chose Murray Terrace.
“I’ve always wanted to live on a tree-lined street and we thought that it would just be perfect for us.
“I understand they decided to remove the trees on the street in 2008, years before I moved in, and there were five left outside that I hoped would be spared.
“There was no letter to say that they would be removing them, just a sign saying there were roadworks.
“To say I’m upset by this is an understatement. They don’t know a beautiful thing when they see it.
“This street will never, ever look like it once did.
“They’ve put in new, younger trees but they’re much smaller and will never have the grand majesty of these copper beech trees even once they reach maturity, decades from now.
“But I woke up and just heard thumps as the trees were coming down.
“I think it’s really disappointing that the trees should be punished for people being careless and tripping over the pavements. It’s not the kind of society I want to live in.”
Council infrastructure convener Neil Cooney said: “I’m certain we have not been removing trees for no good reason.
“It’s possible these trees have been scheduled for removal but the team has only got round to it now.
“We only have one team and it has been a hard winter so there could be a backlog.”
