Cox’s Walk footbridge oaks to be cut down [Felling halted]

Southwark Council is going to cut down two mature, healthy oak trees, both well over 100 years old, to make its repairs to the footbridge easier. We have been asking for a public consultation, but although nearly 2,000 people have signed the petition to save the trees Southwark has made all its decisions behind closed doors. This is especially unfair for the many Forest Hill residents who use the woods, who have been deprived of a voice.

Felling notices have now been placed on the trees and they could be cut down at anytime from Saturday 2nd November. Please email any objections to the Southwark Council Deputy Leader, Rebecca Lury rebecca.lury@southwark.gov.uk as she is leading on this. Thank you.

Good news: felling has been halted

Twitter from Helen Hayes (LP candidate for Dulwich & West Norwood) today:
‘Pleased to say that following further discussion and representations from me, @CatherineRose6 & @AndySimmons10
Southwark Council has agreed to halt the decision to fell two oak trees in Sydenham Hill Woods so that further options can be explored & community engagement take place.’

Now we have to hope that an alternative solution can be found! We’ll be crowdfunding for a new engineer’s report and design that puts retention of the trees as a priority.

Latest update on the oaks: We are conducting a short survey of how people used Cox’s Walk and the footbridge. Southwark Council’s promised more public engagement on the decision, but with the Covid-19 lockdown meetings are impossible. This survey is currently the only way of gathering information about how the footbridge was used and people’s preferences over its repair. It is also open to everyone, not just Southwark residents. It is designed to be open to all opinions. Please help us by taking part yourself, and passing the link on to anyone else you know who uses Cox’s Walk and Sydenham Hill and Dulwich Woods.
The Council’s consultant engineers came up with some alternative repair designs that would save the trees, but still concluded that the risks and costs were too high and want to continue with the original plan. We are working with some local architects, engineers and arboriculturists to come up with a workable design that repairs the bridge and saves the trees. But, we also need the findings from the survey so that we can have an informed discussion of the alternatives, if a technical solution cannot be found.
At the end of January, the Council decided to close the footbridge for safety reasons. This is mainly because the timbers supporting the parapet have rotted. These are not structural, but gave the Council the excuse they were looking for! Whatever is decided, work will not start until the autumn, after the bird breeding season, and is likely to last for some months.

I don’t use the woods much in the winter but usually pick up in the spring/summer months as a cut through to Sydenham Hill station on my morning commute. Admittedly that’s not happening so it would be more for daily exercise in the woods. It’s frustrating to lose it particularly when, as you say, it’s not for structural reasons.

It’s only the footbridge itself that is closed. Upper and lower Cox’s walk are open and there are other paths through the woods that you could use for exercise or to get to Sydenham Hill Station.

Thanks Pennie. I know and I am using them for exercise… but using the bridge is the quickest/most pleasant one in the morning when you’re aiming for a train! Still… all a bit of a moot point at the moment!

Seems like someone was in a rush to catch a train then… just walked past it a couple of days ago.

IMG_03954032×3024 5.86 MB

There is a parallel topic in the General category Cox’s Walk Footbridge Closure but I wanted to share the exciting news here that an independent engineer has come up with a design solution that preserves the trees and repairs the bridge, retaining its main heritage features. We have approached Southwark Council for a meeting to discuss the details and are currently Crowdfunding to pay for the engineer’s time and an arboricultural report. Watch this space (or the one in General)!

Featured on BBC News
today:

Thanks Chris. Useful link, as the iPlayer link only lasts for 24 hours. I thought she made a good and clear report.

The only thing missing was a justification from the council on why it’s necessary to cut down trees to fix a bridge!

Hi Pennie – how can we support you, is there a councillor we should be emailing with further objections? Is it Catherine Rose, or is there someone more sympathetic to the cause?

Hi Fran, Catherine Rose is one of the Dulwich Wood ward councillors, the cabinet member for Leisure, Environment and Roads and the political lead on this decision. She has been quite sympathetic, but so far, not quite enough! It would be great if you could email her: catherine.rose@southwark.gov.uk.

A reporter from Vanessa Feltz’s Breakfast Show on BBC Radio London is coming down tomorrow morning for a live report around 7.30 am.

Grainne Cuff has a good writeup of the history and current events around in News Shopper yesterday. There is also a small photo gallery of the area and camp:

As of writing, the petition stands at 5,215 signatures.

Grainne Cuffe reports for News Shopper on something of a victory for the campaigners:

See the full article for more details, but this looks like something to celebrate.

such good news! brilliant

Thought you may find this Thames TV report from 1985 interesting.

(Apologies if posted before!)