A RARE tree is to be cut down on a busy Winchester road after the city council gave residents just one day's notice.

The honey locust Gleditsia tree at Richard Moss House in North Walls is native to North America and rarely found in the UK.

However, Winchester City Council will fell it on Tuesday, September 17, after local residents received a notice of the decision on Monday, September 16.

The two lanes of traffic on North Walls may also be closed during the felling, which is due to start at around 6pm.

READ MORE: Winchester works at North Walls postponed by Hampshire County Council

Eve Kimpton, 80, by the "honey locust" tree (Image: Sebastian Haw) One of the neighbours said: “The reasons the council have given are ridiculous. Some people in Richard Moss House want it down because they say it causes shade. But the building blocks the light for the tree not the other way around. It is so beautiful, it moves all the time. I want to save the tree. It is magnificent."

Not all residents of Richard Moss House, however, are so fond of the tree.

Eve Kimpton, 80, said: “The tree wasn’t here when the council built it. Now it’s pushing the wall out, it’s a nuisance to the buses, they’re going to just take it down now, even though it’s massive. I don’t know what you can do about it really.”

Another resident, John Pearce, 75, had mixed feelings.

"Well, I’m gutted in one sense, but why did the council put a tree that’s 10 foot higher than the road?" he said.

The council has cited the movement of the wall towards the road caused by pressure from the tree's roots as the main reason for its decision.

SEE ALSO: Residents celebrate completion of North Walls repair works

John Pearce, 75, by the tree (Image: Sebastian Haw) The Chronicle spoke to Winchester City Councillor John Tippett-Cooper, who told us the decision was "upsetting" but necessary.

He said: "I think that where a risk to health and safety is identified, there is very little time between the assessment that identifies that risk and the decision. I understand people are upset that they are losing the tree, but it's a health and safety risk."

The letter sent to residents said: "We do not take the decision to remove any tree lightly and removal is only recommended as a last resort when other remedial options have been exhausted. We also have a duty to protect those using the road and the footpaths, as well as adjacent property."

John and Eve also said that the tree stopped water from draining away, leading to damp conditions and even mould in the flats on the lower floors of the building.

The Chronicle has contacted Winchester City Council for comment.

Richard Moss House was built around 1990 on the site of a cinema built in the 1930s.