The application (see Wind in the Willows) by developer, St George, to fell the willow tree in front of their flats at Fulham Reach was withdrawn. There was much opposition including a well-reasoned submission by a reader here, who knows more about trees than I do.
Last month the tail-end of a US hurricane caused damage across the UK. In Hammersmith a tree by the BP filling station was uprooted and the wind was even stronger along the river. The willow tree showed gratitude for its reprieve; some twigs and leaves were stripped but not a branch came down. Now St George are back with another proposal. Incidentally, because they withdrew their original proposal to fell the tree, all the submissions in opposition have been deleted. This, my arboreal expert tells me, is the oldest trick in the book as it lets them start with a clean slate.
Their new proposal is to prune the crown of the tree. Objectors will ask the Hammersmith Arboricultural Officer to make a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) but it seems that if this defence succeeds pruning may still be allowed. Assuming the tree is pruned the effect will be two-fold. First, the views of the river from the upper floor flats will be greatly improved, a prime objective for St George. Secondly, within about three years there will be fresh growth that will make the tree much bushier and obstruct those views to a greater extent than at present. St George won’t care; their money will be in the bank, or so they hope. At the risk of labouring the point, the only beneficiaries of reducing the willow’s height are the buyers of a few flats who may actually welcome some shade in their glass-walled, south facing eeries.
I took the picture of the willow from this platform protected by railings in front of the old Harrods Furniture Depository on the south bank of the river. I have been told this was built to provide exclusive viewing of The Boat Race but another theory is that it was a wharf for the loading and unloading of large items of furniture from barges. Whatever it was originally, now it has become overgrown and is rather a sorry sight. However, there were two men working there clearing the sorry site when I walked past. The owner, the site is not owned by the so-called “Harrods Village” development, has a vision which I admire. He plans to turn it into a sculpture park. I will watch developments with interest. Incidentally, when I explained why I wanted to photograph the willow tree both gardeners expressed enthusiastic support for its retention. As you can see, Harrods Village have allowed the trees on their river frontage to grow without restraint.
The yew trees in Bishops Park seem to have more berries than usual. Does this presage a hard winter or are there not enough birds to eat the berries?