Colney Fields shoppers left stumped by tree removal from car park

Customers at a shopping centre have been left bemused by a decision to remove a row of trees from the centre of the car park.

The trees across the Colney Fields retail park in London Colney were cut down last autumn leaving shoppers asking why they were given the chop.

One visitor, who had been shopping at the Sainsbury’s on site for several years, said: “It is disappointing as they were mature trees that lined the pedestrian walkway.

“They provided a nice bit of greenery amongst the vast concrete car park as well as acting as a natural windbreak and sound diffuser.”

St Albans district councillor for London Colney, Katherine Gardner, said: I think it is regrettable and deeply disappointing to lose trees on any site in the district and I hope they can be replaced as they were a nice feature of the car park at Colney Fields.”

A spokesperson for Capita, the managing agent for the site, said: “We removed a number of plane trees from the Colney Fields Shopping Complex car park in November 2015.

“The trees in question were all suffering from the Massaria disease and one had already fallen.

“We have already instructed the replanting of 26 new trees, which will take place this spring.”