Madam,

Re your story about the appeal against the council’s refusal of planning permission for the tree sculpture on Borth beach, I would like to ask a few questions.

Has there been a detailed drawing of the proposed tree which will be adhered to in its complete construction and will all joints have been designed and inspected by a competent structural engineer?

Has a structural engineer been employed to assess the effects of the varying strong winds which all joints and components will be subjected to, as to the elasticity, metal fatigue, ice formation and sand particle loading effects?

Will there be a regular inspection of the construction joints of all the structure? What testing will be employed to detect hairline fractures?

How will the access for inspections and cleaning take place and by whom and how will these tasks be paid for? These processes will require strategically placed, engineered designed bases for the access equipment to operate and set up from.

The recent picture of the artist’s impression in the Cambrian News shows an empty beach except for a single dog which is unexplained if the tree is expected to attract masses of people.

Why and how would the cost of the tree be considered beneficial to the local community when the local football pitch need a fully integrated drainage system, as do the local farmers who need proper investment for drainage of the Borth Bog to enable functional use of their land.

The suggestion that Tree will create an influx of tourists and sightseers has to consider and provide a need for additional car parking, extra toilet facilities close to the site and a full-time warden to control the inevitable associated influx of dogs.

The concept of the large tree could be exciting, as would some affordable homes for the younger and wanting first-time buyers. If there are funds allocated for Tree they would be better used to assist in returning Borth to a more permanent and populous village than the apparent trend to a holiday and tourist community.

If this project is given approval the accolade and financial benefits to the designer and engineer will be much greater than the asset value to a community who have endured reduced street lighting in the winter, insufficient litter bins and collections, paths too often littered with dog droppings a closed local waste collection area and dangers of flooding to the houses and land on the opposite side of the sea front - mainly due to poor management and investment from Natural Resources Wales.

Finally, it is clear to me and many others that approval for the structure and associated support works and their costs would make a mockery of a holistic analysis of Borth’s real needs.

Yours etc,

Phil Turner-Wright, Dol-y-bont.

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