So many concerned villagers have been contacting RUDDINGTON.info over the past fortnight, asking this question, we thought we’d better publish a quick update for you.
As previously reported, Ruddington’s new ‘Royal Oak’ tree was kindly donated by villager Barbara Breakwell for Ruddington Parish Council (RPC) to plant on The Green during The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend. There was fanfare, ceremony and much interest as Rushcliffe MP Ruth Edwards was invited to do the tree planting on June Village Market day – alongside an attractive, stone-mounted plaque, already in situ.
However, shortly afterwards, eagle-eyed Ruddingtonians began contacting us after noticing both the special tree and its marker had mysteriously disappeared – with Steve Ennis of WigWag sending us the photograph below. There were concerns that thieves had been at work or that they’d already had to be removed by RPC due to vandalism.
Thankfully, RPC reassured us they were not stolen nor damaged – just that it had decided to remove them both temporarily. The initial reason was that the hole had been dug too far away from the plaque, making it a ‘trip hazard’. This error was actually spotted by Councillors on planting day, nevertheless they thought they should still allow the special ceremony go ahead.
Afterwards, however, with the set-up for last weekend’s Ruddington Beer Festival also about to take place, it was decided to get both tree and plaque out of the way until after the event – to be reinstated once it had finished. Therefore, with ‘health and safety’ considerations satisfied, villagers can now expect to see them reappear (with the marker stone a little closer this time) very shortly.
As this week’s weather was too hot to do it, we’re told the Royal replanting is likely to be scheduled for w/c 20th June. It’s thought unlikely there will be any further ceremony, or that Rushcliffe’s MP will be invited back to do the honours again!
