'Ancient 800-year-old' cedar tree cut down by council in Rye

The Lebanon cedar tree in Rye Cemetery, which people claim is 800 years old, was felled by Rother District Council because it had “decaying roots”.

Residents have described the felling as a “big disaster” and said the council should have informed people of the felling.

There were plans to make a memorial or bench out of the timber from the tree but it was cut into pieces “smaller than we agreed”.

The cedar tree in Rye Cemetery which was felled. Pictured in 2007 (Image: Joseph Dowsing)

Tony Edwards said: “The problem is they didn’t think it was important enough to inform us before the event.

“Nothing more, nothing less, it’s not a building that can be replaced, it’s a tree that took many years to grow and can’t be replaced so no amount of protesting, reports or kicking political footballs about are going to change that.”

Noj Refarc said: “I think it’s a big disaster for anyone locally to see that tree go.”

“I couldn't bear the thought of walking past the stump where a beautiful tree once stood. These things have a huge impact on our community in very personal ways”, said Ann-Marie Sadler.

Sally Bayly said: “This is indeed a shameful chain of events which shows a complete lack of concern, understanding and empathy as regards to the feelings of local people.”

The tree stump pictured in the cemetery (Image: Tony Edwards)

The tree was felled at the end of August.

The council’s specialist report, seen by The Argus, reported root decay fungi in the tree.

It said that the tree is “likely to drop limbs at a minimum” or fall over completely.

The report stated that it may be possible to help improve the health of the tree but this should be weighed against the likelihood of it falling on someone within the cemetery.

The felling comes after a yew tree which “predates the Battle of Hastings” was uprooted on private land last week.

Simon McGurk, Labour councillor for Rye and Winchelsea, organised for the tree to be carved into a memorial or bench but said it was cut too small by the contractors.

He told The Argus: “The council had a report for presence of fungus in the tree. The roots were impacted by it being beside the church. The crown had also been cut back before.

People have expressed their disappointment at the tree being felled (Image: Grahame Boreham)

“The tree needed to be felled. Rother District Council sought the views of councillors and the town council. The information from the officer involved was that it needed to be felled.

“I have been pretty clear this tree is not in my ward, I wanted to make sure there is a memorial for people. We worked hard with the local community groups. We had begun the process of appealing for grants to help pay for the tree carving.

“Unfortunately and to our annoyance, it was carved out. The tree was cut into a smaller size to fit it out of the cemetery gates. I returned to find this had been done. It was in small pieces. It has been moved in smaller pieces than we agreed.

“There is nothing more that we can do. There is a stump left and we are looking if this can stay or if it needs to be moved. I ran a local poll on my Facebook page.

“People’s overwhelming choice was for a yew tree to be planted. It is not my ward so that is only advisory. It was a beautiful tree and we were very sad to see it go.”

A council spokeswoman said: “The cedar tree in Rye Cemetery was surveyed by specialists and was found to have decaying roots.  Safety concerns meant that, sadly, the tree had to be felled as a priority.

“A local district councillor made a direct request to the contractor carrying out the work to retain some of the timber for a community project.  We have since offered timber retained by the district council to that councillor.

“We are happy to support local councillors and the community in discussions about the most appropriate use of the timber for a memorial.”