A group of residents has voiced concern over Douglas Council’s plans to remove a number of registered trees from a playing field in Willaston.

Members of the ‘Keep Willaston Field Green’ community group say they are ‘fairly suspicious’ of the timing of a notice to fell 39 trees, which they describe as ‘incredibly coincidental’ given a separate proposal to build a construction compound on the Ballanard Road park.

Douglas Council says no trees are being removed to make way for the compound, which was agreed following consultation with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA). The authority said the location had been chosen to ‘minimise disruption’ to residents.

The council plans to use part of the field for a temporary compound while refurbishing social housing in the area.

However, Michael, a representative of the residents’ group, believes removing the trees would be ‘the first step’ towards development of the compound and could pave the way for future building.

He said: ‘It makes us fairly suspicious of what the end game is. These are the first steps to pave the way to build on that land in future. When they decide they want to build more houses, the first step will be to remove the trees, even though they’ve said there will be a replanting scheme.

‘They can’t give any timescale as to when or how this will be completed. We just feel that the removal of the trees, combined with the compound plans, is too coincidental. The plans will be fiercely contested by local residents, and nobody wants this to happen.’

Michael said the group had also been told by a local estate agent that house values could ‘decrease’ if the compound went ahead, while the cost of tree removal could be ‘a significant cost to ratepayers’.

He added that members were concerned about flood risk, arguing the trees help absorb heavy rainfall during storms. The group believes the field is among the most high-risk zones for flooding in the Douglas North area.

Members also claimed the council should have maintained the trees more effectively, saying that if they were truly dangerous, they should have been removed as soon as damage occurred rather than ‘10 months later’.

In response, a Douglas Council spokesperson said: ‘No trees are being removed to accommodate the compound. Following consultation with DEFA, it was announced in May that a number of trees would need to be removed due to storm damage.

‘Removing compromised trees is essential for public safety and long-term sustainability. These will be replaced with mature specimens to ensure forestry resilience. There is no evidence to support claims that tree removal would increase flood risk.

‘The compound site was chosen to minimise disruption and reduce construction traffic. While part of the field will be temporarily occupied, open space and pedestrian pathways will remain accessible.

‘The council will continue to liaise with residents and provide updates. The area is already well served by green spaces, including the central Willaston green and children’s play park.’

The council added that it had not delayed removing the trees, saying their roots had been protected and the trees monitored and maintained throughout.