Five fruit trees planted with NHS permission at Stroud Maternity Hospital have been removed without community consultation, prompting anger from residents and councillors. The trees stood on green space that is now affected by plans to enlarge the hospital car park.
The trees were among seven planted at the site in 2014 by Edible Stroud, a food-growing project operating under the umbrella of Transition Stroud, alongside members of the NHS Care Commission and the hospital’s League of Friends. The project was initiated by Edible Stroud founder Josie Cowgill.
Cowgill said she was shocked when she recently discovered that most of the trees had disappeared. Residents who helped with the original planting later gathered at what was described as the “tree graveyard”, including Jane Brown, Nick Weir, Kevin Ashby, Rhiannon Ashby and Robin Treefellow. County councillor Natalie Rothwell-Warn was also present.
Why the trees were removed
Hospital authorities told local councillors that the trees were removed as part of plans to expand the car park. They said they had been unable to establish who owned the trees or who had planted them.
That explanation has been challenged by Cowgill, who said she obtained explicit permission from the Care Commission and was given a specific area for the planting. Representatives from the Care Commission and the League of Friends were photographed taking part, with the image appearing on the NHS Forest project website.
“I obtained explicit permission from the Care Commission for this project and was given a specific area in which the trees could be planted.”
Cowgill, who coordinates the nearby Trinity Rooms Community Hub, said the trees had provided fruit and nuts, wildlife habitat, shade and shelter, carbon capture and increased biodiversity during more than a decade at the hospital.
“There was no justification for removing trees that had become established ecological and community assets, capturing carbon, producing fruit and nuts, providing habitat and food for wildlife, providing shade and shelter and contributing to biodiversity.”
She said prioritising parking over established trees added to environmental pressures and argued that protecting nature was essential to public wellbeing and a sustainable future.
Councillors question the decision
Rothwell-Warn, the Green county councillor for Stroud Central, said removing the trees appeared to conflict with the NHS Forest project, which promotes tree planting and greener hospital grounds. The project specifically describes fruit trees as a popular addition to hospital sites.
“The decision to remove the trees is completely at odds with the ethos of the NHS Forest project.”
Rothwell-Warn said the trees had been funded by the National Lottery and described them as “the People’s Trees”. She said they should not have been removed without thorough checks with the community.
She added that the Trust had acknowledged the disappointment caused and offered to plant replacement trees elsewhere on the site. Councillors and residents want to meet Trust representatives to discuss where replacement trees could go and how they would be protected.
Car park application open for comments
The dispute comes as Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust has resubmitted a previously withdrawn planning application to expand the hospital car park. The proposal would add 41 spaces, taking capacity from 105 to 146—an increase of about 39 per cent.
The proposed expansion would use the green space where the fruit trees stood. Lucas Schoemaker, the Green town and district councillor for Trinity ward, questioned whether the extra parking was necessary, particularly because the Trust reportedly plans to scale down maternity services.
He also raised concerns that members of the public who are not hospital workers, patients or visitors use the existing car park. He suggested that a permit scheme and stronger parking enforcement could help free spaces for people using the hospital, rather than paving over the site’s only green space.
“There seems no need at all to pave over the only piece of green space on the hospital site, which is a haven for wildlife – and, until recently, a home for much-loved fruit trees.”
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust said the organisation was sorry the loss of the trees had caused disappointment. The Trust said it recognised the environmental and wellbeing benefits of trees, would welcome discussions about replanting in alternative locations and wanted to provide sufficient parking, reduce the impact on neighbours and install electric-vehicle charging points.
Members of the public had until September 17 to submit comments on the planning application through Stroud District Council’s planning portal.
