Woodberry Down’s famous Happy Man Tree crowned Tree of the Year

The Happy Man Tree, a 150-year-old London plane whose planned felling sparked street demonstrations, court injunctions of protesters and the vocal opposition of over 25,000 people, has been crowned England’s Tree of the Year 2020 by the Woodland Trust.

Following a vote which overwhelmingly went the Happy Man’s way, the Trust spoke out against the decision to cut down the famous tree in Woodberry Down, which is set to fall to make way for 584 new homes to be built as part of the third phase of the regeneration of the nearby estate.

Individual campaigners were targeted as part of a high court injunction sought by Hackney Council preventing them from protesting near the tree, with a planning decision all but sealing its fate in September pending sign-off by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, but according to many the campaign to protect the Happy Man succeeded in bringing people together.

Sylvia, an elderly local resident who has stood by the tree to protect it has said: “I came to the area when I got married 63 years ago. My sons went to a local school and the tree was always a big source of interest for them. It was always there. If they take the tree away, local history will go out of the window.

“So much has already changed and it’s such a big part of Woodberry Down. People used to live in such a close knit way and the campaign has brought some of this feeling of local community back again.”

Noemi Menendez, a Woodberry Down resident who is part of the community efforts to save the tree, added: “Needless to say, we have all been challenged and pushed outside of our comfort zones in the face of the Covid pandemic. Yet, this crisis has revealed new priorities in people’s lives. The message is clear, we need and want mature trees in our neighbourhoods.

“Planning with a heart will solve the problem we have faced during this campaign; it is a false argument that we only care for one tree and nothing else. We want the tree and the homes; they are both equally important.

“The Happy Man Tree protest has highlighted the value that mature trees have in a community, their cultural and social importance based on memories, aesthetic features, and the sense of wellbeing they bring. Keeping the Happy Man Tree would be a genuine gesture of acknowledgment of this.”

Hackney Council and Berkeley Homes did not directly acknowledge the Woodland Trust’s decision to award the Happy Man when approached for comment.

The plans for Phase 3 of the Woodberry Down regeneration will also see 175 new trees planted and 29 tennis courts’ worth of open space, with planning committee Cllr Vincent Stops saying in September that while “the urban form does move around”, a sustainable community is being created in the area despite the loss of the tree.

In announcing the award, the Woodland Trust acknowledged the “great work” the Town Hall has done to increase green space, including setting borough-wide targets for the increase of tree cover, and that the provision of social housing as important, but maintained on balance that the decision to lose the venerable tree was “poor”, given the possibility of having retained it if plans had been amended earlier in consultation.

Developer Berkeley Homes accepted in September that if they had known of the concerns around the tree earlier, the design of the works would have been different, with both developer and council maintaining throughout the debate that to change course would be to incur a delay of at least 15 months.

Adam Cormack, head of campaigning for the Woodland Trust said: “The local community has made a powerful case to retain the tree, adopting the slogan #noticethistree. We did notice, and so did thousands more. In too many places we see well-loved mature trees lost to development rather than designed in to plans from the start. When this happens it’s a lose-lose situation. The tree itself is lost and people lose something that made their lives better.

“Efforts to create new homes and better places to live must start with protecting existing trees, and their avoidable loss must always be prevented. Planting new trees, while needed, will take years to have the same impact on absorbing carbon and cleaning air.

“The legacy of this tree must be that the planning system, which is currently facing overhaul in England, should protect existing trees and local voices must be listened to when decisions on local trees and woods are made. Trees have a huge positive impact on people’s quality of life, but this needs reflecting in national planning policy and local decision-making.”

Campaign group the Friends of the Happy Man Tree expressed their “delight” at the news of the award, unfurling a banner at the Happy Man to celebrate and joining others in slamming the choice presented between social housing and trees as “falsely polarised”.

Since news of the tree’s loss was first reported earlier in the year, the Happy Man has seen demonstrators of all ages sit at its side and share stories of the community, with some climbing into its branches and others performing music, art and poetry at its base.

A spokesperson for the campaign said: “We have been amazed at the support for the tree from the local and wider community. During the pandemic, when so many people have struggled with social isolation, it has offered a safe physically distant space for coming together.

“Phase 3 is part of a 30-year regeneration of Woodberry Down estate which is bringing huge change to the whole area. For many local residents, the Happy Man Tree is a much loved and long-standing cultural reference point, that connects the past to the present and is a constant in this profoundly changed landscape which they are unwilling to sacrifice to a falsely polarised choice of homes or trees.”

Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville, while acknowledging concerns on the loss of mature trees and the need for more green infrastructure, has said that the loss of the tree is a “last resort”, stressing that Berkeley, councillors and Town Hall officers had spent a “long time” working with residents to try to keep the tree.

He added: “I have always acknowledged the concerns people have in Hackney around the loss of mature trees and the need for more high-quality green infrastructure.

“Sadly in this case, to everyone’s disappointment, the removal of this much-loved tree is necessary to ensure that we can continue with our plans to deliver 584 much-needed homes – including 117 genuinely affordable homes for social rent for local families currently living in old, poor-quality homes elsewhere in Woodberry Down.

“This was never an easy decision, however it was the only way to avoid huge delays to desperately needed new homes and a complete redesign of the project, and is supported by the local elected residents group, the Woodberry Down Community Organisation (WDCO).”

WDCO chair Phil Cooke said: “The aim of WDCO is always to design good quality new homes and improve the living environment of our residents, old and new.

“When we became aware that the tree was due to be removed we got the partners to look at ways that it could be kept, but they all would mean a lengthy delay in the regeneration. The WDCO Board considered all options at its meeting on 2 September and voted in favour 12-4 to support the Phase 3 planning application.

“There is an urgent need to build new homes for tenants that are living in old, inadequate, cold and sometimes damp properties. Many of these, mainly, elderly residents have been waiting 20 years for new homes and the proposed delay for a redesign was too long.

“Looking forward, we want to keep as many of the existing trees on the estate as possible, and make sure many more new trees are planted so that the green environment and biodiversity of the estate is the best that we can make it.”

A Berkeley Homes spokesperson said: ‘Whilst it is never easy to lose a well-liked tree, Berkeley, the London Borough of Hackney and the Woodberry Down Community Organisation (WDCO) have engaged in a very thorough, transparent and balanced debate that culminated in Phase 3 being approved by the planning committee on 9th September.

“We want to ensure the Phase 3 benefits are delivered for the local community as quickly as possible. These include 584 much needed new homes – many of which are for local families currently living in old, substandard accommodation elsewhere in Woodberry Down – a brand new park, the planting of 175 new trees and an energy centre to generate heat to supply the whole of the estate.”