Agenda item
Maintenance and Care of Trees
Find out from Harvey Lowson, CYC Arboricultural Officer, about the maintenance and care of trees in the Ward.
Minutes:
7 Harvey Lowson was introduced to talk about the trees in the ward and the important role they play.
York is an urban forest, due to the number of trees it has.
There are two categories of tree in York, Public and Private. York has more private trees than public.
Tree Protection Methods
A. Legal Protection
Threats to Trees, New development near trees including changes to the highway such as new layouts and new cycle routes
Damage prevention. Developers and contractors sometimes don't understand the impact that digging near trees or trenching through root systems can have.
Tree Officers offer an advisory role to help reduce tree damage but we also have to enforce protection where needed. 1000’s of trees are saved from damage or felling each year by the Council.
7.7 Our main priority is to keep our trees as safe as reasonably possible.
The population of UK is 60 million & yet only 6 fatalities per year are caused by trees. (So the odds are 1in 10 million) However there are 3,650 road fatalities per year or 10 per week!
Trees are inspected for safety and digitally mapped depending on their target risk. This enables others to see trees on the council’s maps.
7.9 Safety is a priority so this work always takes precedent over nuisance related issues. We are rarely able to carry out non-essential, cosmetic pruning work. Nuisance enquiries are looked at case by case and if regarded as justified then remedial work may be ordered. Threats to trees by insurance claims are dealt with by looking at the evidence presented. We would not allow the removal of trees without good reason.
Where possible we try to replace tree losses by carrying out annual tree planting programmes. Resident requests for planting are often successful but inner city sites are hard to find. Underground utilities have made many areas unsuitable for trees. This is one reason why our street trees as very valuable as they are often irreplaceable.
Guides are available for information on all aspects of trees care, maintenance etc from The Council.
Why not become a Tree Warden. The Tree Warden Scheme is a national initiative to enable people to play an active role in conserving and enhancing their local trees and woods. Contact Harvey Lowson or York Tree Warden Group
Thanks were given by the ward councillors