Helensburgh Community Woodlands Group

Osborne Interiors offered to replant the Cumberland Avenue site, provided they proceed with extensive housing development at Castle Woods as well as building one house at Cumberland Avenue – David Adams, HCWG’s Convenor, expressed strong criticism of any attempt to influence planning decisions in this way.

Campaigner’s fury over deal ‘sweetener’

Fury over woodland home plan

Osborne Interiors pursue the dance of the chain saws in Castle Woods

Concern over Castle Woods

Despite strong opposition from HCWG and Helensburgh Community Council (and a formal offer from HCWG to purchase the land for a community woodland), Osborne Interiors managed to secure planning permission for three houses on the smaller Cumberland Avenue site. For more information, see the reports at:

Builders in save our jobs pleas

Community bid to buy site

On the May Bank Holiday, when council offices were closed, Osborne Interiors began to fell the protected woodland on the larger Cumberland Avenue site. Despite strong opposition from HCWG, including a public demonstration on the footpath adjacent to the woodland, the company eventually managed to persuade the Council to allow felling of the larch trees (but not of the other species, most of which were also felled). When virtually all the woodland had been destroyed, the contractors stopped work under threat of legal action from the Council. For more information, see the reports at:

Helensburgh’s Cumberland Avenue saga: planners trying not to hop to a Dance tune?

HCWG leaflet – Wasteland to woodland (394KB PDF)

Go-ahead given for trees to be felled (2.0MB PDF)

Protest as trees get the chop (4.9 MB PDF)

TV Report on ‘Save our Trees’ demonstration