I have written to Plymouth City Council to urge them to halt the removal of the Armada Way trees immediately, following up on a conversation I have already had with Cllr Richard Bingley.

More than 3000 people have signed a petition calling on the Council to rethink, and I am amazed that this expensive scheme is a priority when they are slashing funding for public services across our city.

We all want to see improvements to Armada Way, but this is not the way to go about it. The lack of public consultation is concerning and, while trees sometimes need felling and replacing, the Council needs to show the public the evidence they are using to make these decisions.

The fact that the Council has started to remove these trees at night, as if to avoid scrutiny, suggests that they are aware of the public’s strength of feeling but are choosing to ignore it.

The Council should remove the destruction of these trees and begin a proper round of public consultation on their plans.

Plymouth deserves better than this. Thank you to everyone who has been in touch with me on this issue.