32 alder trees were felled on Clare Hall Piece last week as a 50-year plan for the evolution of The Backs was set in motion.

The felled trees, on land adjacent to Queen’s Road, have opened up one of the most famous views in Cambridge: across Scholars’ Piece and the King’s Back Lawn to King’s College Chapel, the Gibbs building, and Clare College.

Clare Hall Piece was particularly devastated by the loss of elm trees to Dutch elm disease in the 1970s, and the area was replanted by King’s College in the 1980s, with the alders as a ‘nurse crop’ to the oak trees.

However, overcrowding had begun to affect the oak trees, and the alders will now be replaced.

"The alders were always going to be removed at some point and replaced with a more native species,” commented Michael Downs, owner of GardenWorks, the tree surgeons commissioned by King’s and Clare Colleges. “They were planted about 40 or 50 years ago to help keep the oak trees growing straight but they were never permanent.”

The felling of the alder trees is part of the 50-year landscape management plan laid out by Girton alumnus and landscape architect Robert Myers, who produced a report entitled The Backs Cambridge Landscape Strategy in November 2007.

The report takes into account the iconic nature of the Cambridge architecture, and the need to both maintain world-famous views and screen off the traffic on Queen’s Road.

Myers’ report carries out a specific tree survey, and sets out detailed ‘Landscape Proposals’ for each college. After the ‘thinning’ of the alders and oaks on Clare Hall Piece, the recommendation includes: ‘Add clump of trees to help screen views of traffic. Consider additional Hornbeams, or trees with clean trunks such as Turkey Oak, Beech etc. Ensure views of King’s Chapel are not lost.’