“Deeply personal memorial” tree removal in Bentley Priory Nature Reserve

Five years ago, Sonia Rosenblatt and her close friend planted ten native trees to “enhance the biodiversity” in Bentley Priory Nature Reserve in Stanmore.

The trees became a “deeply personal memorial” to Sonia when, just five days later, her friend tragically passed away.

However, what she perceives as a “targeted act” has meant Sonia can no longer bring herself to step foot inside the park. In May of this year, Sonia was devastated to learn that the trees had been removed without any notice.

Sonia said: “They weren’t just trees to me. They became a deeply personal memorial, helping me get through unbearable grief.”

She questioned whether it was a “vindictive act” by a Harrow Council officer after she had “dared to speak out” about the way Bentley Priory was being managed.

Bentley Priory in Stanmore is a recognised site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and a nature reserve. The 173-acre reserve is a patchwork of ancient woodland and open grassland, which surround Summerhouse Lake and Boot Pond. It is home to an array of flora and fauna, including grasses and wildflowers, plus cows, deer, and birds.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Sonia said of Bentley Priory: “It’s really beautiful. It’s a quiet place where you can immerse yourself in and just get lost in it. I’ve spent many, many hours in it, the natural environment means everything to me.”

Sonia got the idea to plant trees in the nature reserve after watching an online video where a business owner had done it as a thank you to their clients. At the time, Sonia was running a digital marketing company and wanted to do the same for the ten clients she had on her books.

She claims to have received a verbal agreement from a previous head warden of Harrow Nature Conservation Forum (HNCF) – a group of volunteers who maintain the majority of the nature reserves and wild open spaces in Harrow, including Bentley Priory – to go ahead with the planting.

She added: “My thing was that I would plant a tree every time a new client came on board. I never imagined that it would turn into this nightmare.”

A ‘completely traumatic time’
In May 2020, Sonia, with the help of her friend, planted the ten native trees, which included hazel, hornbeam, hawthorn, beech, and field maple. Tragically, just five days later her friend passed away at what Sonia described as a “completely traumatic time”.

She said: “I went to these trees and sobbed every time. I sobbed and I sobbed for weeks and weeks. This was a place I just had to go to talk to him. I was distraught. I’ve never experienced pain like that. Never.”

However, Sonia claimed that a few months after the planting a Harrow Council officer threatened to have the trees removed – despite the local authority being aware of how emotionally significant the site was to her.

Sonia escalated the matter to the Ward Councillor, Marilyn Ashton – who is also Chairman of the Bentley Priory Nature Reserve Committee and Deputy Leader of Harrow Council – and she intervened to stop action being taken at the time.

Cllr Ashton told the LDRS: “I came to that view because these trees had a sentimental value and I felt sorry for her. I don’t like to give people any undue upset.

“I’m not saying it’s wrong to remove them but I felt sorry for her and didn’t think they were doing that much harm. It’s just a few trees. There are so many things wrong in the world and I didn’t think that was the worst thing that could happen.”

For the next five years, Sonia maintained the trees at her own expense. As there is no vehicle access into the reserve, she and another friend had to park at the gate and, using a wheelbarrow, carry heavy wooden stakes to the site, as well as dragging countless bags of mulch to the trees. Sonia described the process of fitting metal guards to protect the trees from the cows as “physically exhausting”. She said: “I’ve lost count of the amount of hours I’ve spent on it.”

Despite this, in May of this year, Sonia discovered that the trees had been removed without her having received any advanced warning. She described being in a state of shock. She said: “I was numb, I didn’t know what to think. It was really hard for me to process.

“Initially I tried to not think about it because the pain was too much to bear. Then I got really angry.”

After submitting a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, Sonia learned that a former council officer had formally issued a removal order for the trees in 2022. Despite the officer having left by this point, it was carried out in May 2025. Reasons cited for the removal of the trees in the FOI include that the planting had not been approved by the council and their removal was done for the purpose of ecological management.

Criticism of nature reserve’s management
Sonia had been quoted in an article published in September 2020, where she had highlighted issues with the ongoing maintenance of the nature reserve and believes this is what prompted the decision to remove the trees, though there is no clear evidence this influenced the decision.

She said: “I had publicly criticised the council and HNCF for their complete neglect of Bentley Priory, including their failure to address illegal fishing, wildlife endangerment, and ongoing litter problems. My father and I personally collected over 500 bags of rubbish between 2020 and 2021 because there was no formal litter-picking effort in place.”

Even if the decision to remove the trees was made properly, Sonia believes it wasn’t carried out in a transparent and compassionate way.

‘Sometimes you can be a bit of a jobsworth’
Cllr Ashton said: “What’s happened here I don’t know anything about. Nobody asked me if they could remove them and they knew that I didn’t want it done.

“I don’t know why it was done or who decided it had to be done but I am Chairman of Bentley Priory Nature Reserve Committee, it’s in my ward, and I’m Deputy Leader of the Council – one might have thought someone would run it by me.

“I wouldn’t argue that [the officer] was wrong but I would rather that these trees were not removed because it’s clearly really upsetting this lady and sometimes you can be a bit of a jobsworth.”

She added: “If I was really honest, I would rather they hadn’t done it. [Sonia] is right that I intervened and, had I known, I would have intervened again. I wouldn’t want to wilfully upset someone like that.”

Sonia is seeking a public apology, as well as for new trees to be planted in a location satisfactory to them and for those responsible for the removal to be held accountable.

A Harrow Council spokesperson told the LDRS: “We are aware of the trees being removed and subsequently have received a complaint on this. We are currently looking into the circumstances of how and why this took place and will liaise directly with Sonia once our investigation is complete.”

In the meantime, Sonia explains that she can’t bring herself to go to Bentley Priory – despite previously visiting the trees on an almost daily basis. She said: “I was there all the time. [Now] it’s too painful.

“It feels very tainted. I don’t get the same pleasure from it any more, there’s a lot of sadness and pain. It is beautiful, there’s no question, but now it’s like I bring baggage with me. I put my heart and soul into caring for those trees.”