More of the city’s trees lost to Ash dieback
More urgent tree conservation action is needed this autumn and winter to tackle ash dieback infections in the city. Sadly, it means the loss of many more of the city’s ash trees.
Work starts this week to remove around 300 to 500 infected ash trees in Woodvale Cemetery and woods in the Bevendean and Moulsecoomb areas.
Work will then move to the Coldean area, where an estimated 300 ash trees and 100 elms need to be felled in the woods bordering the A27 and the neighbouring woodland.
Later in the winter, ash dieback work is needed in Stanmer Park and Wild Park, where our initial inspections indicate the loss of a further 1,000 ash trees.
While some of the trees may look healthy, they are infected with the fungal infection ash dieback and need to be removed as they pose an ever-increasing risk to both the public and property.
We’re carrying out wildlife surveys and following best practice guidance and wildlife regulations to minimise the ecological impact of the work.
Until ash removal work has been done, we’re reminding the public to be extra careful in woodland areas due to the potential risk of falling trees and deadwood, especially during windy days.
While the loss of trees is devastating, our tree experts use it as an opportunity to develop areas with a wider range of species and habitat diversity to cope with diseases.
A city-wide ash dieback regeneration plan has been agreed to enhance the city’s woodlands for the future.
We’ll be planting 14,000 tree whips over this planting season in areas where we had to remove significant numbers of ash trees last year.
We will be discussing replanting plans for the woodlands affected by ash dieback removal this year with local communities to support and influence their regeneration for future years.
Tree removal work
Once the work begins, signage will be in place to keep the public safe and let them know what’s going on.
Tree tops will be left on-site, mostly to feed nutrients back into the area and provide habitat for the local wildlife. While it may look untidy, it has ecological benefits in the longer term.
Tree stems will be removed from site where possible, but there may be areas where access is trickier where we need to leave some large pieces of timber.
Some young ash trees not showing signs of ash dieback will be left and observed for resistance, and a selection of mature ash stems will be left at height as stumps for wildlife habitat.
Where diseased ash trees are difficult to remove without machinery, we may need to remove other tree species to gain access to these areas.
One of our tree officers will be inspecting these areas and it’s our priority to limit the amount of non-ash trees that are removed to an absolute minimum.
We’ll also be inspecting the sites for diseased elm trees and will remove those deemed a risk to the wider elm disease control programme.
We have been granted felling licences where required from the government’s Forestry Commission. These must also include plans for the restocking, regeneration or improvements to each site before the commission will issue the licence.
Regenerating our woodlands
Ash dieback is a tree fungal infection that’s spreading throughout the UK and Europe. The National Trust, the Woodland Trust and other environmental organisations predict the disease will kill between 80 to 90% of ash trees across the UK.
Like the rest of the country, and especially the south-east, high numbers of our ash trees are infected by the disease, which is impossible to contain.
Ash dieback is driven by the climate crisis. Mild, wet winters create ideal conditions for disease and pests to spread. Prolonged drought, flooding and high temperatures also mean that the trees are likely to be stressed and more vulnerable to disease.
While the city has relatively few ash trees within more urban areas, around 20% of all woodland trees managed by the council are ash.
We’ve already lost 100s of trees to the devastating disease and, with an estimated 75% to 80% of ash trees throughout the country expected to die within the next 5 to 10 years, we’re anticipating our woodlands will look very different as a result.
As part of our ash dieback regeneration plan, we’ll be planting 14,000 tree whips in the key areas we’ve previously had to clear of ash dieback infected trees.
This includes areas of woodland in Woodingdean, Moulsecoomb, Coldean and Westdene, as well as Wild Park, Coney Wood and the ‘Three Cornered Copse’ in Hove.
We’re supporting our tree planting programme with £1 million from the council’s Carbon Neutral Fund.
You can find out more about our ongoing work and plans for managing ash dieback and replanting on our ash dieback webpages.
Devastating loss
Councillor Jamie Lloyd, Deputy Chair of the Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee, said: “It’s devastating we’re losing so many of our trees. Like many other areas, ash dieback is having a terrible impact on the city’s woodlands.
“Sadly, we have no alternative but to remove all the infected trees to tackle the infection and keep our woodlands safe. There’s a huge amount of work to do over the next few years.
“It’s our priority to ensure the felling has the minimum impact possible on our wildlife and natural habitats.
“We do now have the regeneration plan in place to protect our woodlands for the future. It is great to see we’ll be planting 14,000 tree whips this season to start regenerating the woodlands already affected.”
