Anybody who has walked or driven past Las Esplanadas in the town centre will have seen workers and machinery operating on the garden area. However, this has generated quite a bit of controversy because the PSOE claim that old trees are being indiscriminately cut down and the stumps uprooted.

According to this political party, 30 such trees have been removed, and for that reason is demanding that the Town Hall explains why it is doing this, and at the same time the PSOE reminds the governing party (PP) that the PGOU stipulates that such trees should have been preserved and transplanted elsewhere.

The trees in question are, according to the Town Hall, Schinus Molle L., known by the Spanish name of falsa pimienta, or in English, the Californian pepper tree, which can grow up to 15 metres in height, and as its name suggests, has its origins in the Americas, more specifically the Peruvian Andes.

The Councillor for Maintenance, Francisco Alcaraz, says that the trees’ root system is playing havoc with pipes and pavements, hence their removal.

“They’re not 100-year-old trees, either; more like 30 or 35-years old,” he pointed out, adding, “They’re not a protected species and are of no botanic interest. On the contrary, they are having a negative affect on the palms.”
The socialists are not convinced by his response, however. The party spokeswoman, Ruth García, said, “These trees give shade to the gardens but they’ll probably be substituted by something more expensive, more ornamental and of scarce use [shade wise].”