A PROTECTED tree is to be replaced with a more “suitable species” after its roots cracked through the pavement of a residential street.

Housing association Melin Homes asked for permission to chop down the London Plane tree in the front garden in Gifford Close in Cwmbran.

Torfaen County Borough Council planning officer Tom Braithwaite wrote in his report: “The tree is outgrowing its location and lifting the pavement.”

The tree will be replaced with a Amelanchier lamarckii, which aren’t native to the UK, and can grow to three metres when fully mature.

Torfaen’s tree officer, Phil Grimes, said he was “happy” with the replacement.

The London Plane are the most common tree in the English capital and are thought to be a cross between the Oriental plane and the American sycamore – both of which had been introduced to Britain – and can grow to 35 metres and live for hundreds of years.