Emma Thompson is in rehearsals for the New York Philharmonic staging of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd but the actress has also become a tree-hugger with a cause. She wants to save 32 mature trees at West Hampstead Overground station, which are facing the axe from developers Ballymore within days. Thompson has described the act as “vandalism and savagery”.
“The seedlings Ballymore is planting across the development to replace the existing ones will be pruned and heavily managed — in fact, they could be likened to caged animals,” says Thompson, who has deep roots in the area herself: she has been living there for 54 years. “There’s no way they can simulate the beauty and intrinsic worth of wild, mature trees.”
A local study has worked out the value of the trees as £423,000 in total, and estimated that the replacement seeds will take 60 years to grow to the same size. “We have had meetings with her, and attended residential meetings,” says a Ballymore spokesman. “The decision is the same as it always was.” The conclusion to this drama is expected this weekend.
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