Insurance companies claim that some of the trees in Alexandra Gardens are causing cracks in houses whose gardens back on to the park.

This will be a familiar story to many local residents who in 2010/11 campaigned successfully, to protect three of the plane trees facing Carlyle Road that were similarly accused.

Alexandra Gardens is a tiny park in a heavily populated area of Cambridge, it is defined by the twenty one plane trees that outline its perimeter giving the gardens an intimate and secluded feel. These 110 year old trees have a collective, amenity value of over £3.25 million.

Nine trees which shelter the play area for small children are implicated. The council proposes major tree works (70%), to mitigate its liability but warn that such radical pruning is not without risk. Heavy crown reduction leaves trees vulnerable to infection and can shorten life expectancy.

The impact of the proposed work would devastate the appearance of the park as a whole, destroy the cohesive beauty of the row of trees and reduce its overall value by going on for £1million!