A CHURCH in Grimsby is facing a tough battle with the council over a humble lime tree.
St Mary's On The Sea Catholic Church, in Heneage Road, has clashed with North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) over the tree, which it claims is causing a Grade II-listed wall to collapse onto neighbouring property.
Father Joe Wheat says the church has been banned from removing the tree by the council, meaning the wall remains at risk of collapse.
So while he has been given permission to rebuild the historic wall, if work begins, the tree is likely to be destroyed – in defiance of the council's orders to protect it.
Father Wheat, who has been at the church for two years, said: "If we start work on the wall, it is likely to cause the tree to become unstable, causing it to either fall onto the rectory or the property next door.
"The roots of the tree are pushing the wall sidewards and the area has had to be cordoned off in the past due to the risk of it falling down.
"We had to pay for buttresses to protect it from collapsing and the area has been reopened.
"We didn't want to put people at risk."
The tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order as it is believed to be the last in a long row of lime trees that once formed part of the Holme Hill conservation area.
The church has argued that the tree is not visible from the road, so it "wouldn't cause a visual impairment to the landscape" if it was removed.
"We need the tree removed before any building work can go ahead on the wall," said Father Wheat, who lives in the rectory.
"It's a daft situation that can be easily resolved. We want to spend more of our limited funds on projects in the community and repairs to the church building, yet we're having to pay hundreds of pounds to resolve this.
"We just want to work with the council to put an end to the situation."
Jason Longhurst, head of development services at NELC, said: "We look into all cases on an individual basis and have looked into the historical and architectural importance of this issue.
"In this particular case, it has been assessed that there is no justification to fell the tree.
"The tree in question is protected by a Tree Preservation Order and after considering the church's own 'root investigation report' it was concluded that the tree is having a very limited effect on the wall."
