A Mother could be hauled to court if she trims a ‘wonderful’ walnut tree that could kill her allergic daughter.
The 55ft tree hangs over Chantal Beck’s back garden, threatening her six-year-old daughter Beau who has a deadly nut allergy.
Mrs Beck, a mother-of-two, wants to trim its branches to protect her daughter when she plays outside.
But the 41-year-old faces a court battle if she defies her council, which is seeking to impose a tree preservation order.
The 55ft tree hangs over Chantal Beck’s back garden, threatening her six-year-old daughter Beau who has a deadly nut allergy. Mrs Beck, a mother-of-two, wants to trim its branches to protect her daughter when she plays outside
The council has cited concerns over damage to the tree’s health and the objections of a dozen villagers, one of whom said lopping the tree would damage the village’s ‘rural character’.
Mrs Beck, however, fears her daughter could choke to death – Beau had an anaphylactic shock in the garden of their home in Trowse, Norfolk, in 2019.
Mrs Beck said: ‘She had swollen ears, swollen lips and was clutching her throat. Then she had hives on her body. The reaction isn’t just itchy skin, it is anaphylactic.’
The 100-year-old tree produces an abundant annual crop of ‘especially large’ walnuts, villagers said.
Mrs Beck, however, fears her daughter could choke to death – Beau had an anaphylactic shock in the garden of their home in Trowse, Norfolk, in 2019
It sits on the neighbour’s land, which is part of a conservation area, and every autumn Mrs Beck has to collect buckets full of walnuts from the lawn where Beau and her younger daughter, five-year-old Bonnie, often play.
She added: ‘It didn’t occur to me that [Beau] might have a reaction, because she couldn’t crack a walnut open so was unlikely to eat one.
‘But they mulch, and when the girls play in the garden, it gets on her fingers and hands and then on her face and before you know it it’s in her system.’
Mrs Beck said she didn’t want the tree to be felled as it is a ‘wonderful part of nature’ but would simply like to reduce the risk of harm to her daughter.
She won permission in 2018 to reduce the size of the tree by 13ft, but the consent has expired.
She has now asked South Norfolk Council for permission to cut the height by 16ft and the spread of branches from 50ft to 20ft.
The council refused, citing the ‘strong feeling and response we have received’.
Eleven locals sent it letters objecting to a trim.
One said: ‘As an artist, I draw and photograph it regularly, loving the age and dignity of its perfectly shaped crown.’
Seventeen residents sent the council letters supporting Mrs Beck, however. One said: ‘Although it will be upsetting from a visual perspective for some local residents, when you consider the very dangerous health implications this could have on a small child, I can’t see how anyone can object to this.’
The council has said ‘some pruning work would be acceptable’ but a conservation officer said the extent of work proposed by Mrs Beck would lead to ‘disease and decay’.
Lisa Neal, the ward councillor for Trowse, said she had contacted the mother to find a ‘compromise to help both sides’.
She added: ‘On one side you have Chantal’s daughter with the health implications, on the other people feel it is a lovely tree and don’t want to have too much cut off it because that could damage or kill the tree.’
The council refused, citing the ‘strong feeling and response we have received’. Eleven locals sent it letters objecting to a trim. One said: ‘As an artist, I draw and photograph it regularly, loving the age and dignity of its perfectly shaped crown’