A large majority of the respondents to an on line poll by The Times do not want the trees removed from Castille Place.

In response to the question: "Should the trees at Castille Place, in Valletta, be removed and have an open space instead?", 4,146 said "no" and only 651 answered "yes".

The part of the paving design master plan for Valletta - a pedestrianised Castille Place - which appeared in the front page of The Times on July 4, has proved controversial with many people writing in and calling on the paper to object to the plan.

The main objection is that people want the greenery to stay and would not like the place to be turned into an empty, soulless place.

Some correspondents have widened their objection to the treatment of trees all over the island and have opined that they are fed up with the dust and the concrete, which has engulfed the island.

This is what some of the respondents against the plan had to say:

"We have more than enough concrete places, enough horrible skyscrapers. Let us enjoy the few green spots left. Why plant trees and then uproot them years later to spread concrete instead?"

"If any concrete lovers need to have their day, give them the Opera House site. At least we will not have to be embarrassed every time we enter Valletta".

"I have never come across such a crazy idea. The trees are the items that make the place look nice. They provide oxygen and shade. A tree is a living thing and it is a crime to kill them. They should be planting more trees, not destroying them."

"What a nation of controversies we are! On the one hand we promote the planting of trees with important people being shown on the media with pick in hand planting trees and on the other we ruin trees by excessive pruning, or worse still uprooting them. Who will ever start to understand us?"

"I remember Castille Place in the 1960s and 1970s when there was the bus terminus of several buses, like Kalafrana, Gudja, Mosta, Zejtun etc. At that time it was very ugly.

"Then, the Labour government put trees and statues and made it like it is today. So why change it back to how it was? Are we moving backwards instead of forwards?"

"Anyone even remotely thinking of chopping trees down in this dustbowl called Malta must be a barbarian."

"The real reason is to remove the statue of Manuel Dimech, out of spite. The trees are the excuse."

"I hope the people running the Tree4U campaign oppose the removal of these trees."

The people who agree with the plan said this:

"The trees at Castille Place as well as other sites in Valletta are obstructing the magnificence of the palace and the bastions. "The grandeur aspect of Valletta and the unique heritage, left to us by the Knights, can only be truly admired if there are no obstructions and the area is restored, as much as possible, to the original state dating back to the Knights of St John. Furthermore, Valletta needs a big square."

"Aesthetically and from the plans exhibited, the removal of the haphazardly placed trees will be a big improvement and the piazza (let's hope it is not called misrah) will have the majesty of a square in Europe and will not look like an oasis as it does now."

"Valletta was planned and envisaged as an austere military fortress, albeit with rich baroque palaces. This meant that luxuries such as front gardens and planted boulevards had to be sacrificed for the sake of the Order's military arm.

"There are enough gardens as it is; the removal of the Castille trees would open up Castille Place and remind us of Valletta's military past."

One respondent adopted a different view, saying both "yes" and "no" with a political twist:

"Let us have the new project, but retain the trees. Please remove the Manwel Dimech statue and make way for future PMs statues."

But the most succinct comment was:

"I have just seen that over 4,000 people who took part in the poll want to retain the trees.

"Will this poll make any difference to the decision? Or are the trees doomed anyway?"

Only the government can answer that question.

A petition about the matter is also being raised. Anyone wanting to sign the petition can log on to www.timesofmalta.com/misc/trees/form.php

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