We are a group of local residents: Sandra Laville, Tony Wilkinson, Kate Greene and Diana Payan from Winchester Road together with Susannah Greene and Maggie Greene from Godstone Road. We are campaigning to save the Godwin trees: 11 mature and protected trees on the corner of Winchester and Godstone Road (thus GodWin). We are also trying to retain the pavement layout on Godstone and Winchester Road as it is. The expansion of the current boundaries proposed by the developers will undoubtedly have a negative affect on road safety for all pedestrians.
We now have 70+ local residents signed up to our mailing list who object to the removal of the trees and the proposed development and 109 leeters of objection were written to the council following the original application.
The GodWin trees were given to the community in the 1980s as a community payback for the building of the business estate (which includes the car park), to reduce the visual impact of the estate.
Richmond Council (LBRUT) placed Tree Preservation Orders on the entire site in October 2019 and these were confirmed in February 2020.
Developers want to destroy the trees to build 4 houses on the carpark which is part of the business park.
We oppose this destruction of a mature, green area which provides a wildlife corridor, and is home to bats and nesting birds in the spring. We are ultimately campaigning to take back the carpark and create a green hub for the community to help alleviate air pollution, create habitats for wildlife and provide a valuable green lung for the community. Our plan will also include the installation of car-charging bays for electric vehicles and bike storage bays for commuters using St Margarets Station.