Concerns arose over the health of the tree in 2007, when Under FivesRoundabout pre-school re-located to the grounds of Mayfield primaryschool in 2007, and a council report advised that children should haveonly limited access to the 30-year-old tree because they could causedamage to its roots.
Diana Oviatt-Ham, principal arboricultural officer for Cambridge CityCouncil, said, 'The children could compact the earth and starve theroots of water and air, which is essential for life'.
Part of the planning permission for the new building included alandscaping scheme for the area beneath the tree to ensure that theincrease in activity did not affect the long-term health of thetree.
In a letter to the council, Eileen Hori, chair of the pre-school, said,'The tree occupies a significant space in the playground. If childrenshould not be allowed to play under it, it would reduce our outdoorspace by almost half.
'Our planning permission included this area as part of our play area,and we feel that this is being taken away retrospectively to thedetriment of the pre-school and the children who attend.'
After several months of discussion as to how the area could be used, thepre-school laid a path underneath the tree on the council's advice lastSeptember, allowing access as a quiet area and nature studyresource.
Following this, the council served a temporary Tree Preservation Orderin June 2008, safeguarding the tree from being cut down, damaged ordestroyed without permission.
The pre-school objected to the order, claiming in a letter to MsOviatt-Ham that 'the Tree Preservation Order would not only affect thepre-school's opportunity to provide outstanding education but impact onits intake and financial viability'.
The pre-school argued that the children should be able to standunderneath the tree and benefit from the shelter its canopy provides,and failed to agree on a landscaping scheme.
Cambridge City Council planning committee met last week and confirmedthe Tree Preservation Order, saying that this was not a ban on thechildren playing beneath the tree but that a decision needed to be madeon how the area under the tree could be used to limit heavy play.
It is now hoped that a meeting to decide on a landscaping scheme will beheld.
One suggestion is to make it a quiet area for the children, with flowersand shrubs planted beneath the tree.
