A Meigle man has been left ”horrified” after discovering a small number of cherry blossom trees have been chopped down by contractors working on a new supermarket.
Ronald McNiven (68) has accused Asda of destroying part of Dundee’s heritage.
So far three trees have been cut down in Wester Gourdie Industrial Estate on Myrekirk Road, creating a noticeable gap on the western edge of the site.
Mr McNiven is furious with the developers and described what they had done as ”awful”.
”It’s a part of Dundee that has been lost forever,” said Mr McNiven, who worked nearby for almost 15 years as a watch analyst at Timex. ”This is just typical of developers they don’t give a damn.”
Around 14 trees are to go from the former NCR factory site, with Asda previously saying this was to allow access.
The company also stated their intention to plant new trees in the area but did not confirm if they would be saplings or mature trees.
Despite this the removal of the much-loved cherry blossoms has sparked an angry backlash from people who enjoyed the eye-catching burst of colour they provided when in bloom.
For many years the trees stood at Kingsway West protected under the Tree Preservation Order. This makes it an offence for a person to cut, lop, top, uproot, wilfully damage or destroy them subject to the protection order, unless six weeks’ notice has been given to the council.
Mr McNiven says the protection order has done nothing to stop the developers and he would prefer to see the trees left alone.
”When in bloom they are absolutely stunning,” he said. ”I would like to see something done so that at least 90% will be left in place.”
The new £24 million superstore received the go-ahead in March after a two-year legal battle with Tesco was thrown out of court.
Tesco, which has a store less than a mile away on South Road, had hoped to prevent the build, claiming it infringed upon a number of policies in Dundee’s local planning framework.
However, the Supreme Court rejected Tesco’s claims giving Asda the go-ahead for the new store.
It is expected to create up to 480 jobs as well as an additional 200 jobs during the construction phase.
The site had lain deserted since NCR ceased manufacturing there in 2009, with the loss of over 600 jobs.