A MONKEY puzzle tree just metres away from a Southend home has been saved from the threat of being felled after councillors ordered it to be preserved.

The owners of 19 Clifftown Parade hoped to remove the eye-catching tree after claiming its roots had contributed to structural damage to the house.

Following concerns raised by residents, the council issued a temporary tree preservation order in March.

At a development control committee meeting on Wednesday, councillors voted to make the preservation order permanent.

The house, at the junction of Prittlewell Square in the Clifftown Conservation area, has suffered subsidence which has been caused by the presence of trees, according to an insurance company.

Planning officers said the large tree, which is publicly visible from the surrounding streets, made a “positive contribution to the street scene and the conservation area more widely”.

At the meeting, Richard Longstaff, Green Party councillor for Leigh Ward, welcomed the vote to save the tree.

He said: “We’re seeing a lot of concern for trees adjacent to properties and this being one of those situations, so it’s really refreshing.

“Often the insurance companies are the first to make representations in terms of a tree undermining an adjoining structure, so it’s good to see this.

“I’d like to commend our arboriculture officers. On this occasion, it’s fantastic. They’ve actually preserved a tree and not keeled over to the evidence put forward by the client and I think that should be commended. It’s a great achievement for Southend and for the residents that live in the vicinity of that tree.”

The council has come under fire for removing trees, notably the last remaining trees in Vernon Road, Leigh.

But in a report to the committee, the council’s arboriculture officer said: “Monkey puzzle trees do not lose a great deal of water by evaporation due to their leathery, waxy leaves of low surface area.

“These trees are also efficient with their canopies and relatively slow growing. As such, they do not normally aggravate ground desiccation as much as other trees of a similar size.”

The officer added: “The other Monkey Puzzle tree that has been felled on site was larger and closer to the damaged part of the structure and there is no noticeable improvement to the situation. It is not recommended to fell a tree if there has not been evidence to prove that the tree is at fault for the damage.”