The trees were to be felled as part of the works to improve road safety on the Chinese Roundabout, and a cycle lane would have replaced one of the trees. However, the tree removal was not included in earlier reports when the scheme was agreed upon in 2024.
Local Councillors, Felicity Bainbridge, Adam Grant and Gemma Turrell raised the matter within 24 hours of the plans being announced and Council Officers and the Portfolio Holder for ‘Highways, Road Safety and Transport’, and traffic engineers, secured a revision to the plan to shorten the cycle lane to ensure the trees were not felled.
Councillor Adam Grant said:
“We know how much our trees mean to residents and work very hard to ensure no healthy tree is removed. We are delighted that these beautiful, mature trees will be saved. Bromley is proud to be a green and clean borough. This is why we have recently planted over 5000 new street trees, new microforests and are working to install new woodlands. I am pleased that officers have helped amend the plans so these two trees can remain in place for generations to come.”