Council take action after tree destroys EastEnders star's car (From Enfield Independent)

Council take action in Bush Hill Park after tree destroys EastEnders star Diane Parish's car

9:55am Tuesday 21st August 2012 in News By Hermione Wright

Enfield Council has revealed it will remove 33 trees from Bush Hill Park after one fell on an EastEnders star’s car in May.

Diane Parish, who plays Denise Johnson in the BBC show, claimed the tree which crushed her black Audi and damaged her driveway, could have killed her family.

Work to remove the dead or dying trees is expected to cost Enfield Council approximately £10,000, plus £280 to replace each of the trees - a total of £19,240.

The 42-year-old, who is angling to receive compensation from Enfield Council for the damage, told the Enfield Independent she is pleased the trees will be removed.

When hearing the news, she said:  “That is quite good because that will make the council realise they have caused £20,000 of damage to my property – my car was written off.

“The council haven’t responded to me and I’m trying to get them to pay up.”

The actress, who was about to pick up her children from school when the tree collapsed onto her driveway, hopes it will encourage the council to take responsibility for the fallen tree outside her Bush Hill Park property.

Enfield Council started an immediate survey along the star’s street after the tree fell.

However, the council decided to widen the survey by checking the rest of Bush Hill Park, which would otherwise have been carried out during winter.

The surveys discovered 33 trees had reached an unacceptable stage of deterioration and will need to be removed as soon as possible.

Enfield Council's cabinet member for environment, Councillor Chris Bond, said: "We have identified a number of trees which have deteriorated beyond an acceptable stage and they need to be removed before they become unsafe.

"We do not want to cut down these trees, but the bottom line is they cannot be saved and we need to remove them before the fall down and potentially injure someone.

“This is a proactive, sensible and proportionate response and we'll be replacing as many of these specimens as we can with good quality trees to maintain the green and pleasant nature of the area."

According to Enfield Council, the fallen tree onto the actress' car is subject to usual insurance claims. The council said it has no trace of any letters sent by the star about the incident.

Enfield Council has used pollarding – a method of pruning – to cut back trees since 2004, and said it was very difficult to tell if the trees were rotting from the inside out.

The cost of replacing the trees includes a two-year aftercare programme and guarantee from the contractor to replace, at their own cost, any tree which fails to grow.