Angry residents are expected to turn out in force at a public meeting in Stockbridge on Wednesday regarding the felling of trees along the Water of Leith as part of flood prevention works.

Hundreds of trees have been removed from in and around the Water of Leith as part of extensive construction to protect homes and avoid a repeat of the ruin to homes and businesses caused by flood waters in April 2000.

Locals shocked by the cutting down of trees as part of Edinburgh’s Flood Prevention Scheme which started in March of this year have referred to the situation as, ‘The Edinburgh chainshaw massacre’ urging people to support their campaign to ‘stop the chop’.

Posters have been distributed and an online petition has been created – which at the time of writing had 585 signatures. On Wednesday a public meeting is to be held in Stockbridge Library to collate concerns and forward them to the City of Edinburgh Council.

In a letter (available to view on The Broughton Spurtle) inviting people to attend the meeting, local resident Ani Rinchem Khandro said: “The current scheme is a classic case of using a sledge hammer to crack a nut, profitable for the contractors no doubt, but a huge loss to everyone else.”

Many residents are unconvinced that taking the trees away will prevent flooding believing that the land will subside as a result.

David Buchanan, 60, is retired and has lived in the Stockbridge colonies for more than 30 years. He said: “I’m surprised the houses haven’t fallen to bits with the construction of the flood walls. Surely the roots of the trees help to keep the bed of the river secure.”

His property has never been flooded but he explained that the situation has been extremely difficult for others. He said: “It was the streets further down that suffered from bad flooding and they can’t get insured now.

“The damage was hundreds of thousands of pounds worth and insurance companies turned round and said ‘why should we pay out all this money when it is the Council’s responsibility to complete the flood prevention’.

“People can’t get insurance and can’t sell their homes either.”

But the City of Edinburgh Council has insisted that the removal of trees is essential to the completion of the flood prevention scheme.

Councillor Gordon Mackenzie, the Transport Convener, said: "It's always regrettable when trees need to be cut down but the fact of the matter in this case is that we simply cannot construct substantial enough foundations for the flood defences along this part of the Water of Leith while these trees remain.

“After the defences have been built, a full programme of landscaping and planting will be carried out to restore the area to its former glory. This includes two new trees for every one that is removed across the scheme."

The developments have been closely monitored by the Water of Leith Conservation Trust who have been involved with consultations since the plans were first submitted seven years ago and liaise with the construction company weekly.

Manager of the Trust, Helen Brown said: “It really is a shame but there is no way around it.

“People can see the devastation that is happening with the trees and obviously it is upsetting, there is also damage being caused to the river bed and ecosystems under the water are being destroyed by dragging machines up and down.

“I was upset about this when I first heard about the plans and threw my toys out of the pram but I threw them out six or seven years ago when the plans were submitted.

“We spoke to the contractors and asked if there was another way, we went out with the engineers to view the site and there really is no alternative.

"Our focus is to reinstate species to the area once the work is done and we will devote ourselves to that.”

She added: “Undoubtedly a lot of those trees were coming to the end of their life and would need to be brought down in 10 to 15 years anyway.

"Without management they could fall across the water trapping litter and debris. They would need to be removed at a substantial cost.”

Eleven years ago tens of millions of pounds worth of damage was caused to houses and businesses lining the Water of Leith and the Braid Burn leaving many homeless for several months.

The public meeting will take place in Stockbridge Library on Wednesday, November 16 from 6.45pm to 7.30pm.

IN DETAIL

The Broughton Spurtle