Happy Man Tree

Happy Man Tree
Protest materials on and around the tree as building work is ongoing in the background.
Protest materials on and around the tree with building work ongoing in the background
Happy Man Tree is located in London Borough of Hackney
Happy Man Tree
Happy Man Tree
Hackney, London, England
SpeciesLondon Plane (Platanus × hispanica)
Coordinates51°34′19.5″N 00°05′24.6″W / 51.572083°N 0.090167°W / 51.572083; -0.090167 (The Happy Man Tree)
Height22m[1]
Date seededCirca 1870[2]
Date felled5 January 2021 (2021-01-05)
Websitehttps://www.thehappymantree.org/

The Happy Man Tree was a London plane in the Woodberry Down area of Hackney, London, which was awarded Tree of The Year for 2020 by the Woodland Trust.

The tree was the subject of a dispute between Berkeley Homes and members of the local community over plans for it to be cut down to enable new home construction.[3] A petition to save the tree with 22,000 signatures was delivered to the Mayor of Hackney in June 2020, with the high court granting an injunction to stop protesters blocking the demolition work granted two days later.[4][5] The tree was ultimately cut down in January 2021.[6]

  1. ^ Mayhew, Clive. "Tree Survey, Arboricultural Impact Assessment & Tree Protection Plan" (PDF). Friends of the Happy Man Tree. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Tree of the Year: Hackney tree set to be felled wins award". BBC News.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference msn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Chant, Holly. "Happy Man Tree Supporters deliver petition and papier-mache axe to Hackney Mayor". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  5. ^ Chant, Holly. "'They may cut the tree down, but they are losing the argument,' says Happy Man Tree Supporter after council granted injunction". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Police clear protesters before Happy Man Tree cut down". The Times.