We call on Wandsworth Borough Council to consult the local community fully before taking any action in relation to the trees in Chestnut Avenue on Tooting Common, providing the community with the expert advice about the state of the trees and the range of options to deal with any current issues (including replacing the trees all at once, one by one as required, "inter-planting" between the existing trees, and the options of the type of trees to replace the existing trees) in order to consider the views of local people before making a decision about the future of the avenue.
This petition was agreed at the Furzedown Community Network Committee on the 14th February, as a response to concerns raised by a number of local residents. The Furzedown Community Network (FCN), is made up of local people keen to promote a sense of community and help make Furzedown – an area between Streatham and Tooting in South West London – a good place to live, work and play
Horse chestnuts can live up to 350 years. Cutting them down now has no basis in biology. Further, they provide welfare benefits for everyone who walks the common, and would continue to do so for another 100 years at least.