Residents have been left stunned after council workers hacked down a 'beautiful' blossom tree by mistake. A team from Wigan Council was sent out to Atherton yesterday (April 25) to cut down a diseased tree which needed felling.
But workers turned up at the wrong tree, focusing on a healthy blossom tree which was full of pink petals at the corner of Brierfield Avenue and Ashfield Avenue. The team was questioned by neighbours about whether they really had the correct tree, but work continued until the stunning plant was brought down entirely.
A resident living close to the tree, who asked not to be named, told the Manchester Evening News that she was aware of another tree nearby which was dying and 'about to fall', rather than the 'beautiful' blossom tree which was fine. "I'm heartbroken," she said.
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"I hope they're going to replace it as it gave some privacy as well as being beautiful. I'm so upset and angry. That tree swayed my decision about which flat I moved into."
Having been made aware of the situation yesterday, Atherton councillor Jamie Hodgkinson spoke to an officer at Wigan Council who suggested it could have been the wrong tree. The local authority has now confirmed it made a mistake.
"It's a shame," Coun Hodgkinson said. "We try to get trees cut that do need cutting down, which takes forever, and then they go and chop the wrong one down. I've asked for them to get it replaced as soon as possible, like for like."
Wigan Council says it will replace the tree. A council spokesperson added: “We apologise unreservedly to local residents affected by this, it is clear that an error has been made on this occasion.
"We have launched an urgent investigation to establish the circumstances as to how this has happened. The importance of trees and tree-planting feature prominently in all of our environmental campaigns and projects - including our target of planting one million trees across the borough by 2030.”
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