Stand up for trees An Open Letter to Matthew Barnes, CEO, Aldi UK

Trees on the site of the new Aldi store, Lea Bridge Road, E10 7PQ In the struggle to breathe clean air, trees are our first line of protection, absorbing at least some of the pollutants which are ravaging our lungs, and exhaling much-needed oxygen.

Waltham Forest is home to some of the most polluted roads in London, of which Lea Bridge Road is one.

It is therefore a matter of concern that seven mature trees have already been felled on the old B&Q site to make way for your new store, and vitally important that the remaining 12 mature limes should be spared the axe.

Trees like these, growing in established groups, offer much-needed relief to the local population who use the road.

We need them, not merely for their beauty, but for the protection they offer to our health and well-being.

Replacing this group of mature trees with smaller ones planted in isolation does not represent a ‘like-for-like’ outcome; it will take years for them to develop and for the ecology of the area to recover.

Nor is it only the human population which need these trees; this is still the nesting-season for all manner of birds, whose habitats should be (indeed are) protected while they raise their young.

I note that Aldi claim to be working on the popular issue of food waste and are striving for zero waste to be sent direct to landfill within the next 10 years.

This is great news, but it is hardly the whole picture.

Environmental protection for people and other animals is the core policy of the Green Party, and, as a member, I wish to add my voice to the appeal to save the remaining lime trees on your site.

They can only enhance the neighbourhood, both visually and in terms of environmental health.

Ann Williams Waltham Forest & Redbridge Green Party