Contractors working for Plymouth City Council cut down 110 trees at night before an injunction forced them to stop work.
The council said it was part of a regeneration plan for the city centre which will mean the planting of 169 new trees.
But TV wildlife presenter Chris Packham branded the felling on Twitter as ‘despicable vandalism’.
The council said all but 16 of the trees due to be felled had been taken down and it would be pressing ahead to complete the plan.
Campaigners say they will continue to take legal advice to protect the few remaining mature trees.
The council decided to go ahead with the tree felling after months of delay despite wide objections from members of the public.
Campaigners who tried to stop the programme were outnumbered by police and security guards but managed to ‘get a judge out of bed’ to issue an injunction.
The council’s assistant chief executive Giles Perritt said: ‘We've listened, we have made more environmental improvements and have added more trees but our core priority has to be creating a smart, business-friendly, attractive, city centre.’
The council said the felling took place at night ‘for reasons of public safety and impact on the city centre’.
Ali White from campaigners Save the Trees of Armada Way, said the felling was ‘devastating’ and the group would seek a judicial review of the decision.
Last week a report into the Sheffield street trees scandal criticised the city council for misinterpreting an expert analysis as saying that mature or overmature trees were were ‘ready for replacement’.
This article first appeared on localgov.co.uk.
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