COUNCILLORS have still not learnt the lessons from the felling of the London plane trees, claims a member of the residents' group that was formed following the outcry.

Coun Tony Duck, who took a seat on Kennet District Council at a recent by-election standing on the Devizes Guardians ticket, says that there is still not enough consultation on local developments and the council is storing up more trouble for itself.

And a year on from the felling of the trees, work is still continuing on Market Place improvements, despite a wide dissatisfaction with the changes and with the amount of money spent on them.

Coun Duck said: "You can't put the Market Place back the way it was and some of the changes will certainly be an improvement. There is more space for pedestrians and the new trees, though they look pretty mediocre at the moment, will mature in time.

"Devizes Guardians is not an organisation opposed to change, but we want any change to be in keeping with the wishes of the townspeople."

Consultation seminars on the Devizes Community Area Plan were held on consecutive Thursdays during the day. "What happens if you can't get there on a Thursday? You are excluded from the consultation process," said Coun Duck.

The Guardians cancelled two public meetings earlier this year to fight two town council by-elections, which they narrowly lost, and one district council by-election, which Coun Duck won for them. Now the local pressure group is to hold a public meeting on Tuesday at 7.30pm in the Bear Hotel, Devizes. It wants to enlist more members, adopt a constitution and elect office bearers and a committee.

Will Harley, landscape and countryside officer for Kennet District Council said: "The new trees have already put on quite a bit of growth but once the crown has had a chance to develop they really will look splendid. There is no question the right action was taken to remove the old trees."

Town is not the one we loved, says protester

MARK Watkins, the man whose quick action saved one of the ancient trees as a symbol of people power, still feels strongly about the council's action.

It is unlikely that Mr Watkins, who climbed up one of the doomed trees at around 4.30am on Sunday October 7 last year, will be present at the Guardians' public meeting on Tuesday, but he will be supporting from afar.

He has now moved to Bristol where he is presently working as a car delivery driver for Peugeot.

He said: "My one regret about that morning is that my mobile phone ran out of credit.

"If I had it charged up I could have rung round a lot of people and saved all the trees."

Despite his attempts to awaken Market Place residents by yelling, three trees were felled in quick time so that by the time townspeople assembled at 9am for a protest meeting, all that was left was a few severed limbs and sawdust.

Following urgent requests from the town council, Kennet District Council agreed to employ an independent tree surgeon to adjudicate on the long-term prospects of the remaining tree.

Arboriculturist Simon Pryce said in response to a specific question from Kennet District Council that he could not guarantee the safety of the tree beyond one or two years.

On the afternoon of April 3 protesters collected around the tree as contractors prepared to take the last tree down. That was until Mr Watkins climbed into it for a second time. As soon as Kennet officers saw what had happened they told the contractors to pack up.

The contractors returned in the early hours of the following Wednesday and removed the tree.

The new trees, planted at a cost of £12,000, were already in place by this time and, despite threats to destroy them in revenge for the loss of the original trees, they are still in place and thriving.

Mr Watkins said: "The new trees look okay, but they are not Devizes. The Market Place is looking very clean and tidy now, but it is not the town that local people knew and loved.

"I think Kennet made a big mistake. In future it will have to make sure that everyone is properly consulted before they do anything."

Countdown to battle of the London plane trees

1889: Eight trees planted in the Market Place by Mayor Charles Gillman, four around the fountain and four around Market Cross.

January 22 1998: Proposals for the replacement of the five surviving plane trees first discussed by members of Kennet District Council's planning and development committee.

August 23 1999: Resident Mark Wickham commissions an independent survey of the trees. He finds that four of the five trees could live another 20 years with careful treatment.

September 15 1999: Public meeting at The Bear Hotel called by protesters, votes overwhelmingly against the plan to chop down the trees. A petition with 2,405 signatures forwarded to Kennet District Council.

October 25 2000: A meeting of the Devizes Town Centre joint member working party, representing all three local councils, agrees to remove the five trees and replace them with four new ones of the same species, all grouped around the fountain.

December 12 2000: A meeting of Devizes Town Council approves the felling of the trees after hearing they are in poor condition and Kennet intends to replace them.

October 2 2001: Gazette and Herald is informed that the trees will come down the following Sunday morning. A campaign is launched to oppose the move, but runs out of time. Protester Keith Bulson calls a meeting for 9am on the Sunday.

October 7 2001: Contractors working for Kennet District Council move in between 5.30am and 6am to take down the trees. Because a car was parked in front of one of the trees and Mark Watkins had climbed up into it, it was spared.

November 8 2001: At a meeting attended by 350 people, the Devizes Guardians are formed to monitor the activities of local councils in the wake of the tree furore.

November 27 2001: The Devizes Town Centre joint member working party recommends employing tree consultant Simon Pryce to investigate the health of the surviving tree.

April 3 2002: Following the report by Mr Pryce, Kennet councillors agree the last tree must go. But before contractors arrive Mark Watkins climbs up the tree again and the felling is called off for the day.

April 10 2002: Contractors move in at 4.30am to fell the final tree.

May 2 2002: Devizes Guardians candidate Julia Bullen is narrowly defeated in town council by-election.

July 18 2002: Guardians chairman Tony Duck is elected to Kennet District Council in by-election.