The St Johns Park Tree Massacre - Council Explain Why They've Done It

If you've visited St Johns Park recently, you may have noticed that it's had a big reduction in trees and general foliage along the edge of Lower Church Road and round by the skate park.

There's an impressive amount of tree stumps to admire, with the natural shielding between the park and main road eradicated. It's looks extremely bare and just not right!

Highly upset, your reporter contacted Mid Sussex District Council to find out why their landscaping team had been on a chainsaw rampage.

A council spokesperson said:
“Our aim with these landscaping works has been to enable trees in St John’s Park the space they need to grow and become mature.

“In the area behind the bus stop on Lower Church Road, trees were competing against each other for natural light and many had become weak and stunted as a result. To help the strongest trees survive, we have cleared the scrub and retained the trees that are in the best condition.  This area will now have the Beech hedge extended to link up with the two bar fence and the area under the trees will be reinstated to grass.

“The area next to the skate ramp had become overgrown with bramble bushes and small trees that would not make mature specimens. We’ve cut back the foliage, pruned the lower branches of the large conifer trees and our intention is to open the area up so that we can reinstate grass and plant flowers.”

So there you have it, it's been done for the greater good. The remaining trees will thrive and close the gap over time. You'll also see an increase in the usable grassy area, so you can sit under the remaining trees catching Pokemon, as we all still play that game, right?

You're welcome readers!