The day the community have worked so passionately for has finally arrived - Village Trees Pruned not

The Formby Village Trees have been saved....for now! We have won the battle but not the war. The day has finally arrived when the village trees are being pruned and not felled as wanted by Sefton Council. This is fantastic for everyone that has worked so hard to help keep these spectacular trees. A spokeswoman from Save the Village Trees group said: "Our two veteran trees, will be professionally and respectfully pruned and trimmed as deemed necessary, by our expert tree arborist Greg Thompson as recommended by Bruce Hatton. Works will be overveiwed by Cllr Bob McCann of the Formby Parish Council." "The trees are already proven to be safe, however this will make them sound, and will hopefully be the next step for them to start to recover, and come back healthier and stronger in the coming years. We hope they will stand tall, proud and healthy over our village, for many years to come."

"Thank you everyone for being the voice for these trees! Our next step will be to get the permission for the extended pits and so it continues. It's been a rocky ride to say the least. My sincere thanks and gratitude to Derek Baxter, who without him at the helm, we most certainly would not have reached this point."

Chapel Lane has been CLOSED to traffic all day today Wednesday 10th October. The works will hopefully be completed today and possibly part of Thursday.

Our Village Trees

by Joan Rimmer

For a hundred years they've stood there,

Majestic and supreme,

Enhancement to our Village,

A true arboreal dream.

Through two world wars they flourished,

Growing stronger every day,

Lovingly trimmed and tended

By the powers of yesterday.

Then suddenly the bombshell

From the present powers that be

Who said the trees were dying,

They must cut down every tree.

"Oh, no they're not" we shouted,

"They've flowerd every year,

Borne conkers for the children,

And our love for them is clear".

Dead branches just need pruning

And they'll live for years and years,

Such haste, no consultation

Aroused the public's fears.

With just one day to save them

The people all appeared,

In pouring rain we stood there

and stopped what we had feared.

The next day men came back again

And also so did we

And tried for an injuction

And surrounded every tree.

There'd been no proper survey,

So we got a short reprieve

And a statement from the council

That all their men must leave.

And now we wait and wonder

At the folly of it all,

And hope and prey our trees will stay,

So proud and strong and tall.

We Know there is no danger

If the dead wood's cut away,

They'll thrive and grow and blossom

For untold years each May.

They'll be a splendid legacy

For a future still unborn,

Nature's lasting treasures

One every waking morn.

Copyright - Joan Rimmer (01/02/18)

Cllrs Bob McCann (right) and his wife Susan with Dave Irving (Centre) and

the workmen who are pruning the trees