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St. Luke's Road planting
coursing worries
IF you go down to the woods today, you will be in for a
surprise, well, we are not talking about the Easter bunny, but the sudden
appearance of bushes along part of the tree lined St. Luke's Road. This has
raised fears from some residents that the old horse chestnut trees, better known
as conker trees, which are in wide spread decline, might now be at risk. In
October 2016, experts told the media that they predict that 2 million horse
chestnut trees will be lost within the next 15 years. The trees for many years
have been a massive attraction for local children, wanting to collect conkers
from them. The land they are located on is a very small strip of St Luke's
Church Road, owned by the Firwood Estate, at the edge of Formby's Pine Woods.
This section has been open to the public for over 100 years, we are told.
Currently, there a public footpath:- it is part of the Coastal Path; and
disputed bridleway on it. The road also acts as access to a section of road that
is currently Council owned, servicing a few homes. The worry is also that this
is a new move to remove public access. We have tried to email the owners for
more information since being alerted to the changes being made. The Formby Civic
Society have also commented that:- "We would have no real objection
to the new planting of laurels along that part of St. Luke's Road which is now
privately owned. It does now look however, as if it is a private driveway and
not anything like its original design. This continuation of St. Luke's Road was
once an 'Avenue' planted by the Formby Family and a very natural looking country
lane." We would love to hear your views on this issue.
Please email us to:-
News24@SouthportReporter.com.
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