Save The Bethnal Green Mulberry Tree

by Geoffrey Juden

Save The Bethnal Green Mulberry Tree

by Geoffrey Juden

Geoffrey Juden

Case Owner

I am a local resident and Chair of the East London Garden Society. William Blake said 'The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.'

Funded

on 26th January 2021

£14,183

pledged of £15,000 stretch target from 286 pledges

Geoffrey Juden

Case Owner

I am a local resident and Chair of the East London Garden Society. William Blake said 'The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.'

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Latest: April 18, 2021

16 days until the High Court Judicial Review to Save the Bethnal Green Mulberry

Thanks to your support our Judicial Review to SAVE THE BETHNAL GREEN MULBERRY is going ahead at the High Court on 5th & 6th May.

We still need a little more more help to get there.

After thre…

We are a group of East London residents - under the patronage of Dame Judi Dench - challenging Tower Hamlets Council over plans to dig up the beloved veteran Bethnal Green Mulberry Tree and partly demolish a listed building in developer Crest Nicholson’s scheme for redevelopment of the former London Chest Hospital (part of the Victoria Park Conservation Area).

After three years of campaigning, we are overjoyed that our case has been granted a Judicial Review by the High Court and now we can proceed to a full hearing if we can raise £10,000.

Anyone that donates £100 or more will receive a cutting of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S MULBERRY TREE. Planted in Stratford Upon Avon by the poet in 1610, it was cut down in 1770 but David Garrick rescued a cutting which flourishes to this day. Your cutting comes from this tree. Send an email to [email protected] and we will supply your rooted cutting later this year. (Available only to a limited number)

We understand there is currently a pressing need for genuinely affordable housing in Bethnal Green but we also recognise a responsibility to future generations. The pandemic has taught us we must show respect for Nature and in future we should avoid building densely-crowded housing. We want the development to be done in a sensitive and humane way - so that it does not damage the historic Mulberry Tree and the built heritage of the hospital building, blighting the Victoria Park Conservation Area.

At this stage, we are raising £10,000 to proceed to a full hearing of the Judicial Review at the High Court of the council’s decision to issue planning permission which includes digging up the Bethnal Green Mulberry. We need to pay court fees, solicitor’s costs, barrister’s fees and cover the claimant’s exposure to the council's costs.

Last year, our lawyers researched and drew up the grounds for Judicial Review. We submitted these to Tower Hamlets Council to give them the opportunity to withdraw their decision but they refused. Consequently, we have no choice but to proceed to Judicial Review at the High Court if we are to save the Bethnal Green Mulberry and stop this bad development.

This is a strong campaign, valiantly led by the East End Preservation Society, that has raised the profile of this beautiful venerable living icon but we have to fight if we want to resist the wanton destruction of our veteran trees and built heritage at the expense of a greedy-profit driven development.     

Sign our petition: https://www.change.org/p/crest-nicholson-developers-save-the-bethnal-green-mulberry

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Such an irreplaceable tree
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Save the historic tree!

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Update 1

Geoffrey Juden

April 18, 2021

16 days until the High Court Judicial Review to Save the Bethnal Green Mulberry

Thanks to your support our Judicial Review to SAVE THE BETHNAL GREEN MULBERRY is going ahead at the High Court on 5th & 6th May.

We still need a little more more help to get there.

After three years campaigning - and now with the patronage of Dane Judi Dench - we are overjoyed that we have been granted this Judicial Review with a full hearing, if we can raise £10,000 to pay our barrister and QC.

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT OUR LEGAL FUND

Anyone who donates £100 or more will receive either a cutting of WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S MULBERRY TREE or a big tub of Mulberry sorbet made by KITTY TRAVERS of LA GROTTA ICES from the fruit of HISTORIC LONDON MULBERRIES picked by THE GENTLE AUTHOR of Spitalfields Life.

Planted in Stratford Upon Avon by the poet in 1610, Shakespeare’s Mulberry was cut down in 1770 but DAVID GARRICK rescued a cutting which flourishes to this day. Your cutting comes from this tree.

Send an email with your preference to [email protected] and we will supply your rooted cutting later this year or give you details to collect your Mulberry sorbet from a Central London location. (Both are available only in limited numbers)

Ice Cream Maker Kitty Travers tastes her Mulberry sorbet

At this stage, we are raising £10,000 to pay for QC Richard Harwood OBE and Paul Atkinson, barrister to represent us in May at the full hearing of the Judicial Review at the High Court of the council’s decision to issue planning permission which includes digging up the Bethnal Green Mulberry.

We believe Tower Hamlets acted unlawfully in granting permission to Crest Nicholson and there are five grounds for Judicial Review.

We are delighted to announce that on Friday 15th April, the High Court also agreed we could raise - as an additional ground for Judicial Review - the fact that the Conservation Officer concluded in her report that the plans would result in Substantial Harm to the listed buildings but this was not disclosed to the public or the councillors making the decision - on the basis that she had changed her mind by the time of the planning meeting, thus defeating the public and councillors’ right to know.

We understand there is currently a pressing need for genuinely affordable housing in Bethnal Green but we also recognise a responsibility to future generations. Crest Nicholson's proposal has too little affordable housing and we want this improved. Above all, we want the development to be done in a sensitive and humane way, so that it does not damage the historic Mulberry Tree and the built heritage of the hospital building, blighting the Victoria Park Conservation Area.