Town mouse - Jessica Fellowes

Councils in London are losing trees at an unprecedented rate: we must protect this much needed source of green in the city, argues Jessica

Town mouse; country life
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(Image credit: Country Life)

Here's a quick quiz. How many trees are there in London? More or less than one million? More or less than 10 million? In fact, there are seven million trees lining our pavements and parks, but they are fighting for their survival. Next month, the Greater London Authority will report on what it calls the 'chainsaw massacre' currently being exercised on this urban wood. Local councils are responsible for their trees, but they are not necessarily to blame for their depletion.

Look instead to assaults by utility companies digging up roads, lorries crashing into low branches, new developments edging them out, mobile-phone companies demanding they are cut back. Once they're down, resources to replace them are few. Harrow has lost 5,000 trees in the past five years, and planted only 1,750. Croydon has lost 2,000 of its 35,000 trees, and cannot replace them. Each tree lost means we lose a little much needed green in our concrete city. Walk along the Embankment and imagine it without trees. They remind us of changing seasons and the enchantment of nature. The great Georgian and Victorian planners of London knew this: we must uphold their ideals.

Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.