A Cardiff Council spokesman said: "The Council has a duty to make a decision on any planning application which is brought in front of the Planning Authority (Cardiff Council)

"In line with planning policy and law, the Council must assess all material factors which are relevant to an application. In this instance, the Planning Authority assessed a wide range of issues and reached a balanced decision when the recommendation was put forward. A technical note was provided by the applicant specifically on the trees which included options to retain them, but it was concluded that this option was not considered either feasible or safe.

"It should be noted that there are other mature trees on this site which will not be disturbed and additional trees will also be planted as part of the development.

"The Council remains completely satisfied that the decision that was taken by the Planning Committee was subject to a robust decision making process, which included a site visit, a detailed officer report setting out the reasons for the recommendation and a full discussion at two planning committee meetings which included information provided by the case officer, the tree officer, the conservation officer as well as local members."