Arboricultural Association suggested tag

Twenty-Twenty was named the “Year of the Tree” by the Tree Council, and moments before lockdown, in Davos the World Economic Forum announced the creation of the One Trillion Tree Initiative, following on from the UN Billion Tree Campaign of 2006.  We’re hoping that H&F Council and residents will take the opportunity to participate.

In contrast, while Sheffield is normally noted for heavy industry, recently it became notorious for a rather different kind: the Sheffield Chainsaw Massacre seemingly more for the convenience of the PFI road maintenance contractor than for the public good, under a plan euphemistically called “Streets Ahead”.  The before and after shots are alarming. Furthermore, Sheffield Council has been found to have misled residents over the state of some trees.

King St. tree felling 2019

Here in Hammersmith, we recently praised the council’s street tree planting programme, particularly in the North of the borough, and the associated guerrilla gardening was nominated for an award in 2018.  In 2019 however, tree fortunes reversed somewhat, and we had our own mini chainsaw massacre, where a number of street trees were removed by council contractors without notice.

Four were removed in a day at the West end of King Street. A mature tree outside the Sainsburys local was clearly dead, two were young but had died, apparently of neglect, and the 4th (pictured in the background) was partly diseased.  The removal on safety grounds is obviously an overriding consideration, however the job was half-done, and nearly a year on, ugly and potentially hazardous metre-high stumps remain littering our pavements, not just in King St. but elsewhere in the borough.  We have contacted the council’s arboricultural officer for comment on more than one occasion – so far without response. 

Update April 2021 – it took a couple of years – but the good news is that trees have now been replaced by a new Plane and a Magnolia. Now let’s see if we can get to work on those tree pits…

We’ve noted with some dismay over the years the lack of a consistent council policy on tree pits, and awarded our council the wooden spoon in no less than THREE successive years 2013–2014–2015 for “inconsistent standards within the Borough relating to Tree Pits, which range from ‘resin bound gravel’ to ‘earth and weeds’” (see related stories below).  Improved tree pits could have helped save the two saplings mentioned – the metre-high stump in the foreground can clearly be seen surrounded by a large expanse of unsuitable close-fitting asphalt – another wooden spoon candidate.  The Arboricultural Association have recently launched a labelling campaign – photo above – which we think the council could very usefully adopt here, encouraging residents to look after their local street trees, especially the young and vulnerable ones.

Tree cage – Hackney

We appreciate the council promoting street trees, and in the year of the tree we’d like to see:

• Removal of old tree stumps and the planting of replacements. 
• An enforced tree-pit policy using water-porous materials such as low cost and attractive Hoggin (as seen in neighbouring K&C).
• Suitable cages for saplings, such as those recently appearing in Hackney.
• Encouragement of residents to water and look after their street trees.

How might this be paid for? The overloaded local planning system is currently gummed up with applications for tree pruning and other minor works, so much so that the major planning applications can easily be missed in the torrent.  The costs of administering this must be substantial, and it’s relatively ineffective. The money could be better spent on the list above. 

Sovereign Court – no trees!

Ineffective? We and our affiliates are aware of large mature trees having been removed without planning permission, even in conservation areas where a £20,000 fine applies, and where objections have been raised for inappropriate tree works, they have sometimes been ignored.  Furthermore, some Section 106/CIL could be allocated for such small yet beneficial projects.  We note that last year’s wooden spoon winner, Sovereign Court, failed to plant the trees of its 2012 plans, a project for which there would have been plenty of CIL.  Double Wooden Spoon. 

In 2020 – the year of the tree – it’s time to adjust our local planning system and its enforcement to better serve the borough.