The tree soap opera around a car wash in Eindhoven ends positively. The tree that was clumsily placed right in front of a brand new laundry box in Eindhoven was knocked over by strangers. Exactly the night before the tree was to be moved. Entrepreneur Henri Lanters is now donating a new tree to the municipality. “Three years warranty is complete!”
Beaming with pride, the wasbox brothers Henri and Huib pose with the tree. “They think it’s a super nice gesture. They were very happy with it,” says Lanters. “Normally they don’t accept anything, they made an exception.”
The tree soap continued. It was almost like a script for a comic book. The entrepreneur installed three brand new laundry boxes. A lamppost was moved and the paving adjusted. Only that ‘one devilish’ tree: it had been there for some time and could not be removed.
Media storm
A real media storm came over Henri and the tree after Omroep Brabant raised the tree issue. Missing paperwork would be the problem. The municipality of Eindhoven promised to move the tree one day later. All’s well that ends well, you would think.
Destruction
As it turned out: tall trees catch a lot of wind. That night, strangers saw their chance. The tree was knocked over. A day later the broken tree lay next to the laundry box. Exactly the night before the municipality was going to remove the tree anyway. The municipality of Eindhoven took the matter seriously and reported the vandalism to the police.
To make matters worse, it was also a compensation tree. This tree must make up for another, previously felled tree. So cutting down was never an option. And so a new tree had to be built. So Henri gave it as a gift.
The new tree has been on Baronielaan since Tuesday morning, the place where the destroyed tree was actually supposed to be. Planted by the same man who planted the previous one. Not for a laundry box? “No, a very beautiful place. A beautiful ending!”, laughs Henri.
View the images of the tree that stood right in front of the car wash here:
