A Parliamentary petition was launched in September 2020 to save the tree from being cut down for HS2 and a month later had over 20,000 signatures triggering an official government response.

The tree trunk was to be placed in the South Cubbington Wood to form a habitat for insects, fungi and plants.

[5][9] A petition in support of this proposal was sent to the HS2 Parliamentary select committee, but the scheme was rejected on economic grounds, with an estimated cost of £46 million.

[9][10] In preparation for its removal the Shuttleworth College successfully took cuttings from the Cubbington Pear Tree by September 2017.

[10] The Cubbington Action Group led a series of walks to view the tree in April and May 2018 to see it in bloom for the "last time".

[15] In October 2023 it was reported that the transplanted stump had grown new shoots showing that at that time the tree was still alive.

[5] It won the competition having garnered more than 10,000 votes and beating famous trees such as the Ankerwycke Yew in Berkshire, the Boscobel Oak in Shropshire and the Glastonbury Thorn in Somerset.