Trees threatening monuments

I am in complete agreement with Ivan Padovani in his letter to The Times (May 2) on the subject of the trees mutilated by "authorised" persons in the Naxxar/San Gwann Road. Clearly whoever is responsible for these people is not supervising properly. For what reason were the said trees, mature and in full bloom and situated in the middle of a wide unbuilt area, targeted for pruning in such a savage manner? As Dr Padovani rightly pointed out, these trees were the only redeeming feature in an otherwise degraded and ugly stretch of road. Some of the trees are now less than half the size they were before pruning.

Given the passion for work which seems to have taken hold of these pruners and those responsible for them I would suggest that they do a public good deed by tackling once and for all the great trees in Valletta in front of St John's Co-Cathedral, those around the Great Siege Monument in Republic Street and those found in Queen's Square. These trees need to be eliminated altogether since they are unsightly and dirtying the place, and are moreover causing irreparable damage to the buildings and monuments in the surroundings. This applies in particular to St John's Co-Cathedral, whose beautiful floor is threatened by the roots of these trees. Old pictures of the areas in question indicate that these trees were never meant to be there and were not part of the original plans.

I myself am a tree enthusiast but as everything else in life a balance needs to be found. Clearly these trees are not in the right place. They should never have been planted and should therefore be removed to bring these prime sites in our capital to the same situations as orignally intended by its more sophisticated and cultured planners.