INVESTIGATIONS are being made to see if preservation orders can be put on trees which have replaced those chopped down by mistake outside a fast food restaurant in Worcester.

Worcester city councillors were adamant that the new trees planted outside KFC on the Elgar Retail Park last month needed to be protected in order to prevent them succumbing to a similar fate as their predecessors.

We previously reported in your Worcester News how four mature trees – three ash and one lime tree – which were about 12 years old were felled in August, leading to complaints from local residents.

KFC opened in January this year but planning permission was only granted on the grounds that there was sufficient landscaping to hide the building from nearby homes.

It was then discovered that the trees were removed accidentally by the estate management company acting on behalf of the retail park in Blackpole Road, Blackpole, Worcester.

At a meeting of the city’s planning committee, Councillor Alan Amos, who represents Warndon, led the call to get tree preservation orders put on the four new Italian alders, which will eventually grow to about 15 metres in height. The new trees have been planted because they are meant to be faster growing and more tolerant to poor soil conditions and pollution.

Coun Amos said: “What happened was vandalism of good healthy trees, whether by accident or whatever, but I urge this committee to put preservation orders on these trees.

“We were very lucky on this occasion that there was a condition which said ‘don’t chop them down within five years’.

“They do seriously need to be protected, otherwise I think they will be vulnerable to this type of vandalism. They are not safe without any protection from this council.”

Councillors heard the committee itself could not put orders on any tree in the city as it is up to tree preservation officers to decide.

Alan Coleman, development control leader, said: “We will have to get an officer to look at them to decide if they fit the criteria. We need specialist advice.”

The committee agreed to recommend that planning officers look into whether orders can be put on the four trees.