GS Brown Construction is being urged to work with locals to help save a row of historic trees in the Carse of Gowrie.
The giant redwoods are next to the site of a proposed new housing development on the edge of Inchture.
The building firm, founded by former St Johnstone owner Geoff Brown, wants to construct 56 new homes there.
But campaigners say the development will further endanger an avenue of 41 giant redwoods which are admired around the world.
More than 1,000 people have signed a petition calling for the trees to be protected.
And Fiona Ross, chairwoman of the Scottish Redwood Trust, is among 17 objectors to GS Brown Construction’s planning application.
She says the trees’ future is already threated by development, including the A90 road which cut a path through the middle of the avenue.
And the prospect of a new building site right next door could be the final straw.
“What these historic trees do not need is more water being directed on to the site,” she said.
“They are dying and they need to be protected.”
Inchture redwoods part of Scotland’s history
The Inchture redwoods were originally part of a 1km driveway from the village to Rossie Priory.
It was planted in the late 19th century.
And the trees are the most visible symbol of the Carse of Gowrie’s role in the arrival of the species to Scotland.
Local landowner Patrick Matthew cultivated 11 of the trees from seeds sent home by his sons after they went prospecting for gold in California.
Five of these originals are still growing locally.
And while the Inchture trees aren’t from that first batch of seeds, DNA testing suggests they came from the same place – the Calaveras Grove – and potentially the same mother tree.
However, the Inchture avenue has been showing signs of ill-health in recent years.
It was split in two by the A90 in the 1970s. This blocked the natural water flow, says Fiona.
And the creation of a wetlands to the north of the trees in the 1980s means the redwoods roots are now sitting in stagnant water for most of the year.
That’s terrible news for their wide, shallow root system.
And the outlook has been bleaker still since they were diagnosed with honey fungus in August 2023.
The disease prevents the circulation of water in a tree.
And if nothing is done to drain excess water from the site, it’s feared the Inchture redwoods will die.
Developer urged to help save Inchture redwoods
The Scottish Redwood Trust has been campaigning to save the trees.
And if the housing goes ahead, the group is pleading with GS Brown Construction to move its SUD drainage pond to the other side of the site, away from the trees.
However, as part of her objection Fiona is also challenging the developers to work with the trust.
She is suggesting GS Brown Construction could help to build new drainage away from the redwoods to an existing burn.
“This would show good faith and an interest in the local area and protection of this community’s prized attributes,” she said.
The Courier asked GS Brown Construction to comment.
The firm wants to build a mix of home types including bungalows and five-bedroom houses on the land between the A90 and Moncur Road.
Fourteen of the properties will be “affordable”.
It says it would make “significant contributions” to the council’s education and transport funding as part of the development.
An application for 66 homes on the site was previously refused by Perth and Kinross Council due to noise and overdevelopment fears.
Conversation