Tree felling goes ahead despite campaign
Tree felling goes ahead despite campaign
David Pittam - NottinghamSat, September 26, 2026 at 6:36 AM UTC
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Kerry Warwick had been campaigning to save the trees
Two trees at the centre of a campaign to save them have been chopped down.
Nottingham City Council approved the removal of two trees outside The Jamia Masjid Sultania and Education Centre in Sneinton, Nottingham, on Wednesday.
The mosque previously said it had reluctantly applied to chop them down because of health and safety and structural concerns.
But Kerry Warwick, 42, who lives in the area, said she was "heartbroken" when she arrived on Friday to find stumps where the trees had stood.
Warwick said several people had been willing to chain themselves to the trees but found out about the decision too late
She said: "I am shattered into a thousand pieces... because they're gone, and we can't save them now.
"I burst out into tears when I saw them."
She had previously vowed to chain herself to the trees, and had the equipment ready, but said she was not told of the council decision, so she did not get the chance.
She added that she understood the mosque's position, but thought there could have been another way of dealing with the trees without chopping them down.
"Those trees are really important to the environment and to Sneinton," she said.
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"Smaller trees don't give us as much as the larger ones did - it's going to take years and years for them to give us the benefits.
"Look at the heatwaves we've had all summer, we need the trees to protect us, and now they're gone."
Some of the paving was being pushed up by the trees' roots
It appears the roots of the trees have also been dug up
Nadim Khan, the mosque chairman, said they would replace and replant new trees once they found a way to do so without causing problems in the future.
He previously told the BBC it was not an easy decision to apply to remove them, but the roots were pushing up the paving outside the entrance, making it unsafe and threatening the structure.
He said an elderly woman injured herself tripping over the uneven surface while visiting.
A tree protection order is in place for several trees outside the mosque, meaning permission must be sought from the local authority before they can be removed.
The mosque had previously applied to remove six trees, but this was refused.
But the city council gave the go-ahead for two to go earlier this week.
In its decision, it said the trees must be replaced by two trees in the same place or as close as possible.
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Campaigners on 'cloud nine' after tree felling halted
Campaigners ready to be chained to at-risk trees
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Nottingham City Council
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