More than 50 trees on Woolwich Common that were set to be chopped down have been given a reprieve – at least for now – after an application to widen a road was taken off a planning committee’s agenda.
Greenwich councillors were due to decide on Tuesday whether the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust would be given permission to expand Stadium Road and Baker Road, near Queen Elizabeth Hospital, to create a new cycle lane.
But more than 500 people objected – including Greenwich Cyclists, the local branch of the London Cycling Campaign, which said the loss of the 53 trees would “significantly outweigh the benefit of providing new segregated cycleways and footpaths”.
Objectors were told on Friday afternoon the plans had been taken off the agenda for a planning board meeting on Tuesday. The Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust was unable to confirm whether or not the scheme had been withdrawn altogether.
The roads were originally run by the Ministry of Defence, but passed to the NHS when Queen Elizabeth Hospital was taken over from the military in 2001.
The health service had struggled to maintain the roads, which had become notorious for potholes, and hoped the expansion would enable Greenwich Council to adopt them. The cycle lane – and the tree-felling – came at the request of the borough’s highways department, with 76 new trees to be planted in their place.
However, The Greenwich Wire understands there were questions over whether the council would actually take on the roads considering the cost of the works, with the high level of opposition also said to be a factor in the plans being pulled from the meeting.
The meeting on Tuesday will still go ahead, however, with councillors due to decide on revised plans for housing behind the new Woolwich Waves leisure centre.
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