It's the big day today for the Irton Tree, which featured on the Northerner last week and very widely elsewhere in the media.
Two legal hearings are under way, county court proceedings in the morning and a High Court decision in the afternoon. Given the law's ability to extend discussion almost ad infinitum - see Dale Farm et al - things may not come to the crunch. But it looks probable.
Campaigner Mick Haigh says:
The tree is tweeting @IrtonTree and long may it do so. The tree occupant may also be online as well as on phone today if we can recharge his laptop battery. There are also a couple of Facebook Irton Tree supporting groups we will assess and publicise.
The county court hearing before Judge Gosnell in Leeds could win extra time on the grounds that there is no emergency and therefore North Yorkshire county council cannot close Irton village's Main Street without eight weeks' notice. Campaigner David Parker says:
We'll be pleased if the Judge declares the County Council has to give notice of closure, that means a stay of execution for Irton's Beech tree and a few more weeks time for its supporters to make sure its case is properly heard."
I'm also very pleased that the judge at a previous hearing in Scarborough cut down legal preparation time to one hour as we don't want even more money wasted on lawyers. I drove to County Hall today with the Judge's papers to save the County Council wasting more on legal costs.
An extremely good website York Stories sets out the full history of this saga and is well worth visiting. Without excessive duplication, I hope, here's an interesting point it makes about this micro-case having macro relevance.
Everyone who thinks trees enhance a place should care about this case. we should all be bothered. This is probably just the start of it. If you care about a particular tree in your neighbourhood and it's close to someone's wall, or a drain - as it probably is - practise your tree-climbing skills ...
