Trees felled at Murray Royal site

Mar 26 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

SADNESS has been expressed over the felling of an avenue of lime trees in the grounds of Murray Royal Hospital in Perth.

Scone man Donald Morris captured the flourishing trees on his camera in 2007, but now the same vista is one of desolation.

The trees have been felled in preparation for the multi-million pound re-development of the Murray Royal site to provide state-of-the-art psychiatry services fit for the 21st century.

“I was fond of this beautiful grove of lime trees and it was very sad to see them go. It’s not just lime trees which have been cut down. Some gean (wild cherry) trees have gone as well. These would just be coming into pink blossom,” Mr Morris told the PA.

“I feel part of Perth’s history has gone. It’s sad to see a part of Perth disappear.”

Mr Morris and other tree-lovers can take a little consolation from plans to use some of the tree trunks to enhance the environment in the Murray Royal grounds.

And there is a major tree-planting programme planned for the Murray Royal site, explained NHS Tayside project director Dave Charles.

“As part of the enabling works to clear the Murray Royal site in preparation for the new hospital, a number of trees including the avenue of Lime trees have been felled but, as agreed in the planning application, new trees will be planted across the site once the new hospital is complete, including a new avenue of limes,” he said.

“The trees were required to be cut down before nesting began and an ecologist was on site to oversee the felling.

“A number of the trunks will be used in art projects and some to create attractive benches which will be used in the landscaping work.”

Mr Morris did successfully save one Perth tree. It is an old walnut tree on the former Caithness Glass site at Inveralmond which was threatened with destruction when the site was re-developed.

Mr Morris contacted a woodland officer at Perth and Kinross Council and procedures were put in place to save the tree which, said Mr Morris “looks nice at the moment”.