Activist barrister arrested after climbing tree to halt “illegal” felling

Paul Powlesland said he found himself “30ft in the air up a tree in Wellingborough” before being arrested by Northamptonshire Police.

The 60 lime trees in Wellingborough were subject to a tree preservation order, but North Northamptonshire Council said that an exemption applied under the “relevant regulations”.

The Council said in a statement on 21 February: “The work does not require the approval of the council as it is being carried out through the authority provided by legislation to Statutory Undertakers under The Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012.”

The plans to fell the trees, as part of work on a new development by Vistry Group, were opposed by a local residents' group.

Mr Powlesland gave advice to the group that felling the trees would be illegal.

Writing on Twitter, he said the advice was explained to the council and police who were “unwilling” to stop the felling.

After climbing the tree, he wrote: “The police have now surrounded my tree with fencing..... & are covering it in police ‘crime scene’ tape.”

By the end of the day, the felling crews left and Mr Powlesland said that the head of the council had offered a meeting.

The barrister was arrested for aggravated trespass and given a bail condition not to climb any tree in Northamptonshire, which he described as “hilariously ridiculous”.

He said: “The police came over and read their prepared script on aggravated trespass. I tried to reason with them that such an arrest could not be made given the unlawful nature of the tree felling, which they completely ignored & began physically removing people from the area.”

Council leader Jason Smithers announced today that no more trees have been removed over the last few days. The council leader met with Vistry to request the company to begin a “wider engagement process” with residents regarding the felling of the lime trees.

In response to this development, Paul Powlesland said on Twitter: “Well done to all the people of Wellingborough who worked so tirelessly as guardians & protectors of their trees; thanks to Northamptonshire Council and Cllr Jason Smithers for doing the right thing; and thanks to everyone on Twitter who added to pressure on the Council which led to today’s reprieve.”

He added: “This is not a final victory - the trees are still under threat. But the immediate threat of felling is gone & the community now have the chance to properly look at the legal & practical circumstances & make their case that these trees could & should be saved.”

Lottie Winson