Councillors ignored impassioned pleas not to dig up willow trees to make way for a cycle path through an Oxford park.

Dominic Woodfield begged the city council’s planning committee not to ‘stoop as low’ as councils in Sheffield and Plymouth, where the uprooting of mature trees spared fury, by approving proposals to dig up a dozen mature trees at Donnington recreation ground.

“Base decisions on common sense,” he urged the committee this week.

“And common sense in this case is why destroy valued mature trees when you don’t have to.”

His comments came as the planning committee voted to approve plans for the new cycle path, submitted on behalf of the council’s arms-length enterprise ODS Ltd.

Oxford Mail: A consultation sign on a railing at the site Picture: Oxford MailA consultation sign on a railing at the site Picture: Oxford Mail (Image: Oxford Mail)

It will see a three-metre-wide path built along the south side of Donnington recreation ground between Meadow Lane and Cavell Road, with a new entrance to the west.

Currently, a muddy ‘trench’ bisects the park between existing gates in the north west and south east corners.

But the plans, which have been in the pipeline for months, have prompted anger from residents concerned about the removal of mature trees and the failure by designers to consider alternative routes over the park.

Speaking to councillors via a video link on Tuesday night, objector Mr Woodfield cited tree-axing scandals in Sheffield and Plymouth and added: “The message is people like trees. You all seem to like trees.

“People of course accept there are times when they have to go. [But] they don’t like them being cut down needlessly or for spurious reasons or without justification.”

The Donnington Rec proposals would ‘punch a hole’ in a line of well-loved trees, he added.

More than two dozen people wrote to the council objecting to the plans. Groups Friends of Iffley Village and Oxford Civic Society also raised concerns that alternative routes for the path had not been considered.

Oxford Mail: A number of trees at the western corner of the park would be removed Picture: Oxford MailA number of trees at the western corner of the park would be removed Picture: Oxford Mail (Image: Oxford Mail)

Tilting against the plans, Cllr Sajjad Malik (Independent, Temple Cowley) said: “This council promotes all these green spaces and biodiversity and to be honest I feel very uncomfortable voting for this, because those trees should be preserved.”

Cllr Alex Hollingsworth (Labour, Carfax & Jericho) sought to convince the committee to reject the application on the grounds that ODS had not demonstrated the retention of the trees was ‘not feasible’.

But councillors were told by planning officers to remember that they had to decide on the application in front of them and were not considering alternative routes of the path across the park.

And the council’s own experts said the loss of the relatively small number of trees was not ‘significantly’ ecologically harmful. Seven new trees would be planted and nature improvements made at nearby Greyfriars School.

Oxford Mail: The plans would see a cycle path built along the southern corner of the park Picture: ODS/StantecThe plans would see a cycle path built along the southern corner of the park Picture: ODS/Stantec (Image: ODS, Stantec)

The plans were supported by Cllr Louise Upton, cabinet member for planning, who said the path was ‘one more bit’ that would connect up with other safe, off-road routes.

She said: “I think it is the best route for it to go.”

Letters were received from 16 people speaking in favour of the plans.