Eye Cemetery
Eye Cemetery campaigner ‘heartbroken’ after felling of site’s Leylandii trees
A campaigner who was trying to save two trees in her town’s cemetery says she is ‘heartbroken’ after they were felled yesterday.
Debra Houldey was hoping the subject of chopping down a pair of Leylandii trees in Eye Cemetery could have been fully discussed with the town.
But Eye Town Council voted to have them cut down at its meeting on September 18, despite residents handing in a petition with more than 250 signatures on it to save the trees.
Report from the Diss Express.
By Kevin Hurst
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kevin.hurst@iliffepublishing.co.uk
Published: 10:37, 01 October 2024
Eye Cemetery campaigner ‘heartbroken’ after felling of site’s Leylandii trees
A campaigner who was trying to save two trees in her town’s cemetery says she is ‘heartbroken’ after they were felled yesterday.
A campaigner who was trying to save two trees in her town’s cemetery says she is ‘heartbroken’ after they were felled yesterday.
Debra Houldey was hoping the subject of chopping down a pair of Leylandii trees in Eye Cemetery could have been fully discussed with the town.
But Eye Town Council voted to have them cut down at its meeting on September 18, despite residents handing in a petition with more than 250 signatures on it to save the trees.
The council said the decision was made as the trees were causing potential damage to graves, headstones, pathways and other structures within the site.
Ms Houldey said: “I am just heartbroken. It is a massive shame that the council just did not care and I feel they did not regard the opinions of residents as being important.”
Eye town mayor, Cllr Tunie Brandon, said the council had first asked for a budget of £5,000 for tree works in September 2023.
“A contract was accepted in March from qualified tree surgeon Nick Bobby to do other tree work as well as felling the two Leylandii,” said the mayor.
“As the monies for tree works were pre-approved, the matter did not have to go to full council for a vote, yet it was agreed to do so for transparency.”
Second Eye Cemetery Clean Up Day Called Off
Sadly, the Eye Cemetery Volunteer Tidy for Sunday, 29 September has been called off by Cllrs Crispin, O'Donnell and Bush.
Alternative arrangements will be made.
Campaign to save trees in the Eye Cemetery
East Anglian Daily Times reports on Eye Cemetery Leylandii Trees
Anger has broken out in a town after councillors voted to cut down two Leylandii trees in a cemetery.
Eye Town Council met on Wednesday to discuss proposals to fell the trees in the cemetery and replace them with either Hornbeam or Field Maple trees.
However, one resident who has loved ones buried there believes the council "do not understand how they feel".
"They do not understand how we feel about things being messed about up there," said Debbie Houldey.
A vote to fell the trees took place earlier this week (Image: Debbie Houldey) Ms Houldey feels there is "absolutely nothing wrong with the trees."
"I am really angry. They are cutting down healthy trees," she continued.
A statement from Eye Town Council said: "There is no particular species of insect or animal that Leylandii support.
"Felling them can make room for a wider variety of native plants and trees, promoting a healthier, more eco-system. Over the last few years, it has been a goal of the council to increase the overall biodiversity of the town."
Leylandii are not native to the UK and can act as a nesting site and cover for birds.
Eye Town Council said it will plant Guelder Roses alongside the replacement trees to attract more birds.
Ms Houldey added there are several ongoing problems with the cemetery.
She said: "There are lots of issues going on with the cemetery and I can't understand why they want to be making issues with it. They seem to want to mess about with something that is quite important to us local people."
The Eye Town Council statement adds: "Overall, while Leylandii can serve as windbreaks or privacy screens, their size, fast growth and potential hazards make them less desirable in sensitive locations like cemeteries, where maintaining a peaceful, safe and aesthetically pleasing environment is a priority.
"While we appreciate the passion some people have for the Leylandii, it has been decided by a full council vote to fell the trees."
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Eye Town Council statement regarding Felling of Trees
Eye Cemetery Leylandii trees to be felled
Local residents have grouped together to oppose the Eye Town Councils plan to fell the Leylandii trees. At Septembers council meeting the council voted to fell the trees, against views of many residents and a Petition with over 250 names was presented at the meeting.
01
Petition
A petition gathered in the last 7 days with over 250 signatures from the public was presented to the Council
02
Residents letter
A letter from a local resident speaking against cutting the trees down stated that they had spoken directly to the Arboricultural Officer at Mid Suffolk District Council who had stated there was no reason for these trees to be felled
Eye Cemetery Get Involved
The Eye Town Council Environment Committee are in the process of outlining their plans for the community of Eye to get involved with the Eye Town Cemetery Project.
This is an extensive plan that will see the widening of the cemetery entrance, rebuilding the walls and renovating the wrought iron railings. Applications for funding are to be made, this will enable the two twin Victorian Chapels to be renovated and brought back into regular use. One as a chapel the other as an historic community link between the community and the history of those who are at rest in the Eye cemetery as historic facts about people are to be displayed in the chapel.
This project will require volunteers from all walks of life to get involved and unite their life skills to bring this project to fruition.
More information will be posted once the Eye Council progresses with this project.
Eye Cemetery extract from Eye Town Council website.
Eye Cemetery provides a peaceful resting place for generations of townspeople, and it is properly managed and well maintained in their memory. The Cemetery provides a calm, peaceful environment close to nature. Mature trees line the boundaries and carefully preserved wildflower conservation areas provide a fine natural habitat for birds and butterflies. Eye Cemetery is also a quiet haven for people, offering regular and occasional visitors the promise of a few moments of tranquillity away from the pressures of a busy modern world.
Thank you to Eye Town Council website Eye Suffolk Org. Visit www.eyesuffolk.org here.
Environmental concern for trees
This letter has been sent to David Pizzey, Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council in response to concerned residents who have raised alarm on this issue as the trees form a large part of the Eye landscape.
David
As you may be aware eye Town Council is responsible for a cemetery in Eye that was established in 1866 that also has 2 Victorian Chapel buildings still standing.
In 2022 the Council were advised at the Environment Committee that the large yew trees at the front of the cemetery and the surrounding shrubbery etc needed reducing. In part it was said because of the overhang of the branches towards/over the main road. The proposal agreed was that the yew trees would be pollarded.
Soon after that, and to everyone’s surprise (and shock to many), the yew trees were cut to ground level and all the then hedging was removed. While this gave better public view of the cemetery / chapels many people were upset by the loss of these old trees.
The Town Council are currently stating that the yew trees were found to be diseased and therefore had to be cut to the ground. Others who have looked at the stumps say there is no evidence of disease, though the Town Council now say that there is growth from the base of the trees!
Whatever the situation it is sadly too late to save those rather magnificent yew trees that formed the front perimeter to the cemetery.
The point is there are many other ancient trees on the cemetery site and people are very concerned about their fate given the experience above.
The cemetery site of course represents an important living heritage as part of the town and for many people still in Eye and further afield) a place of remembrance and reflection. A local volunteer group has already done some fabulous work studying flora and fauna and their lead has expressed serious concern to me about the preservation of the numerous trees on the site.
A number of people have approached me to contact you and seek your advice about establishing preservation orders (TPOs) that would give much peace of mind to residents but also ensure that some of the irreplaceable trees are properly looked after long into the future.
Very happy to discuss this further.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Ian
Ian Winter CBE
Tel: 07963 144128
We take pride in our commitment to protecting the environment and preserving our natural resources. We are deeply concerned about the loss of several large mature trees, including Beech and Yew from the cemetery on land owned by the Eye Town Council. As such, we are actively working to ensure that the remaining trees are preserved and protected through the application of TPO,tree preservation orders. We believe that this is an important step in ensuring that our community remains beautiful and environmentally sustainable for generations to come.