If you have gone past Ealing Common in the last couple of weeks you almost certainly will have noticed that several of the big horse chestnut trees have been felled.
From a distance there didn’t look to be any sign of disease or decay in the cut trees. However, the reason for the felling was that the trees were being attacked by Bleeding Canker, a disease which has shown a marked increase in the last four or five years, not only in the UK but in other European countries. At present there is no chemical treatment to cure or arrest its development.
According to the Council website, the disease was detected in four horse chestnut trees in Ealing Common and one in Warwick Dene Gardens when they were inspected by the council's tree service in the summer.
The council sought advice from the Arboricultural Advisory Information Service (AAIS), which then inspected the trees and confirmed this diagnosis. The AAIS also confirmed that the trees would, unfortunately, not recover and that they should be felled.
The council informed the Ealing Common Society and ward councillors of this decision prior to the trees being felled on Saturday 25 February, and they are consulting with the society and ward councillors on the future management of the remaining trees in Ealing Common and options for replanting. The management plan will be presented to a future Ealing Area Committee.
The horse chestnut trees were planted early last century, and their lifespan is between 75 to 120 years, so it was in any case time to be thinking about their replacements.
I don’t know if there were any information notices posted near the felled trees. Probably not, since apparently the Council received lots of phone calls on the subject. It would have been good to let people know that the trees were being felled because of disease.
For further information on Bleeding Canker visit www.forestresearch.gov.uk , the website of the Forestry Commission’s research agency. The Commission’s main website www.forestry.gov.uk is well worth looking at for information on all aspects of woodlands. Among other things it contains a key to identifying common British trees by their leaves.
Another site to visit for
information on trees and tree-related events is www.treecouncil.org.uk
. The Tree
Council promotes the planting and conservation of trees in town and
countryside, and is an umbrella body for 150 organisations working together for
trees. It is also a forum for tackling issues relating to trees and woods. It
co-ordinates various events throughout the year, including Seed Gathering Season
and National Tree Week in early and late autumn, and the May “Walk in the Woods”
Festival.
The Tree Council can also be contacted at 71 Newcomen Street, London SE1 1YT Tel: 020-7407 9992
Fellow member with FoE of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, The Woodland Trust www.woodland-trust.org.uk offers numerous opportunities to get involved in the protection of our native treescape. You can subscribe to their e-newsletter even if you aren’t a member.
General enquiry number for the Trust is 01476-581135
March 2006