The next phase of the Tolworth Greenway project has begun with the chopping down of six trees.

The project will plant more trees, but with 10 fewer than originally planned due to budget cuts and misplaced water mains.

Kingston Council pledged about 60 new trees for the area as part of the £3m project, but the number has been reduced to 50 due to water mains underneath where the trees were due to go.

Kiya Banfield, from Liddiyards cafe, said: “A lot of people have come into the shop saying they feel bad the trees are going to be cut down.”

Rod Revell, manager of the project, said he would have loved to put more trees on the Broadway, but his hands had been tied by budget constraints.

He said: “We would rather see more trees, but there are cuts with local governments who had to cut various things out.”

A spokesman for Kingston Council said: “A number of trees along the Tolworth Broadway were identified as being in poor health by council tree officers and the scheme designers.

“Others were identified as clashing with proposed raised planters.”

He said the council was considering other sites to plant trees including elsewhere on Tolworth Broadway or Kingston Road.