The Grantham Oak, on Belton Lane, has come second England’s Tree of the Year competition, organised by the Woodland Trust.
A Hackney plane tree has been crowned winner for 2020, after the public voted overwhelmingly in its favour. The Happy Man Tree is a street tree outside the now demolished Happy Man public house in Woodberry Grove, just off Seven Sisters Road
Last month, it was decided that the tree will be felled before the year is out to make way for redevelopment.
The competition is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery which gives a £1,000 care award to the winning trees.
The Grantham Oak is believed to be more than six centuries old, the days of Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt.
But its future looked less certain in 2018, when a utility company set up working around the tree, parking heavy equipment under its branches and digging trenches nearby, inadvertently threatening its roots.
The Woodland Trust, which is based in Grantham, sprung into action, working with the council to make sure that adequate protections were put in place to ensure the tree’s future – a rope barrier has been erected to keep vehicles from driving over its roots, followed by a special protective surface over the wider area.
The Grantham Oak should still have a long life ahead of it.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.