At the height of last summer’s heat wave, McDonald’s Haringey cut down eleven 30 year-old lime trees as part of planned ‘improvements’ to their site.
Workers blamed the trees for damaging the drainage channels, but Harry Rashid, the site manager claims it was a mistake. After a loud and angry public protest he has promised to replant replacement trees somewhere in Haringey, but local residents have asked for the trees to be planted on the site from which these mature trees were removed.
Update November 2022
Campaigners from @JustPlaneNews lead protest at McDonald’s HQ. During London’s hottest recorded summer McD’s Green Lanes felled 11 mature trees and still haven’t shown plans for mitigating this important loss to local community.
Campaigners from @JustPlaneNews lead protest at McDonald’s HQ. During London’s hottest recorded summer McD’s Green Lanes felled 11 mature trees and still haven’t shown plans for mitigating this important loss to local community. @XRHaringey @XRLondon @XrSouthEastUK pic.twitter.com/SaSyjPWv4l
— JO SYZ (@j_syz) November 1, 2022
Latest Updates
The McDonald’s franchise holder in Green Lanes has agreed to pay for the replacement of trees outside the restaurant following discussions with Haringey Council.
Eleven trees were removed from the site in the summer during refurbishment work on the car park. … the trees were on private land and were neither in a conservation area or subject to tree preservation orders (TPOs).
In Spring 2023, a mixture of 12 new native trees, including birch, hornbeam and lime, will be planted by the council to improve biodiversity – eight in tree pits on the pavement outside McDonald’s, with four others nearby on Green Lanes.
Each of the trees will be typically 8-10 years old and up to 4 metres tall and planted with barriers to avoid the roots causing damage.
Haringey Tree Protectors reply: “This offer is simply not good enough. McDonald’s are not taking proper responsibility by agreeing to pay for planting trees on the pavement as they will then become the responsibility of the council There is no word about caring for the trees in the future. AND there’s the issue of the hedge and plastic grass – essentially the only concession they have made is throwing some money at this – they still will have a nature depleted site and this isn’t good enough”
News update 4/11/22
The McDonald’s franchise holder in Green Lanes has agreed to pay for the replacement of trees outside the restaurant following discussions with Haringey Council. In Spring 2023, a mixture of 12 new native trees, including birch, hornbeam and lime, will be planted by the council to improve biodiversity – eight in tree pits on the pavement outside McDonald’s, with four others nearby on Green Lanes. Each of the trees will be typically 8-10 years old and up to 4 metres tall and planted with barriers to avoid the roots causing damage.
Haringey Tree Protectors reply: “This offer is simply not good enough. Eleven trees were removed from the site in the summer during refurbishment work on the car park. … the trees were on private land. McDonald’s are not taking proper responsibility by agreeing to pay for planting trees on the pavement as they will then become the responsibility of the council. There is no word about caring for the trees in the future. AND there’s the issue of the hedge and plastic grass – essentially the only concession they have made is throwing some money at this – they will still have a nature depleted site and this isn’t good enough”
Image credit – Google streetview/realmedia
