RECENT high winds may have sounded the death knell for a 250-year old Cedar of Lebanon which is facing the axe because it is now standing too close to recently built properties and has become a safety hazard.

Distraught that it has come to this, local residents nonetheless believe that to fell the tree is the only responsible thing to do.

ÒWe love the tree so much but we couldnÕt live with ourselves if it killed somebody,Ó says Rebecca Churchill in whose garden the tree now stands.

The cedar is one of a pair originally planted in the grounds of Amery House in Alton. Both have tree preservation orders on them and, when viewed from afar, their majestic blue-grey canopies stand out as an historic landmark in the changing scene of market town life.

They were retained when the present development of 22 houses known as Oliver Rise was built some ten years ago.

At the time there was a strong swell of local opinion objecting fiercely to the number of homes to be built on the site and to the possible loss of trees.

ÒThe public fought long and hard to keep the cedars and the developer was allowed to build on condition they were retained,Ó recalls local councillor Allan Chick who was at the forefront of the campaign.

ÒThe developer should never have been allowed to build the houses so close to the trees. It was bound to cause problems eventually,Ó said Mr Chick.

It seems the storm of Sunday, October 27, may have proved him right.

According to local resident Peter Bancroft, soon after 9-30 that morning a prolonged gust of wind ripped two huge branches off the side of the tree most exposed to the elements.

The debris crashed down into the car park beneath, crushing the fence of the garden of the Churchill family and of their immediate neighbours.

Speaking on behalf of the Oliver Rise ResidentsÕ Company, Mr Bancroft is supporting the Churchills in their reluctant application to fell the tree.

They were out when the branches crashed to the ground, but it was to prove the final straw.

According to Mrs Churchill this is the third in a series of incidents which have all happened under very different weather conditions. Some branches even dropped from the tree one summer when the air was still and hot, possibly due to dehydration.

ÒBut this latest incident was the most serious and caused damage to gardens and fences. Miraculously, however, there were no cars parked in the parking bays onto which parts also fell,Ó she told the Herald.

Of far greater concern was that children living in a property fronting Vicarage Hill regularly use the same area beneath the tree to play and for access to and from school.

ÒThey have a camp in a bush near the tree and that was completely squashed. If they had been in it at the time they would have been killed,Ó said Mrs Churchill.

Sad to be losing a tree which she and her husband have cherished over the years, paying for annual health checks and to have it regularly pruned, Mrs Churchill is consoled only by the fact that a second tree standing alongside may be given space to spread out and fill the space left in the skyline.

Having inspected the damaged cedar, East Hampshire District Council arboricultural officer Stewart Garside said he will be supporting the application to fell on condition a replacement tree of good size is planted in a more suitable location.

ÒTrees do have a finite life span and unfortunately we have to err on the side of safety,Ó said the officer, who had struggled to lift just a splinter from the two large limbs which had fallen from the cedar.

His main fear is that the the wind has torn away a major part of the canopy, leaving parts of the tree not previously exposed open to the elements, and raising increased safety concerns.

The residents themselves are well aware that their houses have been built too close to the trees and believe that this may be a major factor in the demise of the cedar.

While the law prohibiting the development of property so close to trees was changed in 1991, it was too late for Oliver Rise. The Churchills actually moved in during that year and believe that their predicament should act as a lesson to planners over the fool hardiness of allowing such action.

Because the cedar stands in their garden, should permission be granted to fell, the Churchills are not only being faced with the loss of a much loved and beautiful tree, but with a £2,000 bill to cover the cost.

Convinced that a decision to fell would be the only sensible course of action, the neighbours are all asking for pieces of the tree to turn into candlestick holders and tables, to remember it by. In addition, the Churchills plan to show their respect by holding a Ôtree partyÕ to celebrate the life of the cedar.

Rebecca Churchill is adamant: ÒIt will be a really sad day. It has been here for 250 years - we canÕt let it go without saying goodbye.Ó