pollarding lime trees in Barry Road

[intexasatthe moment]

I know we may be all be feeling a little jaded what with staying in more and something of a spectacle is being provided but.....what a shame this wasn't done in the winter .

[tiddles]

Are they being pollarded now? In nesting season?

[intexasatthe moment]

Yes ,as I type .

I made some remark to the chap donning a harness along the lines of "what a shame you have to do this now " and he said

"it's fine ,we just have to be careful of nesting birds "

[Treehugger2]

I know it's supposed to be good for the trees, but this brutal amputation of these beautiful trees that were looking absolutely wonderful - and so uplifting to the spirits - has depressed me immeasurably. Did it REALLY have to be done now, when we are in the middle of an apocalypse and just trying to hold on to our stiff upper lips and keep smiling? And what about the nesting birds? They don't stand a chance. This is the first time in the last few weeks that I've nearly cried, and I probably will before I go to bed tonight. SOOOOOOOOO thoughtless and un-empathetic from the council.

[Bony Fido]

Better to see pollarding etc. than the growing numbers of beautiful trees being cut down as a response to subsidence - it seems that insurance companies insist on this as a "remedy".

[intexasatthe moment]

treehugger - you and me both . If they'd been done in the winter ,there would have been the canopy to enjoy the previous summer and a little new growth by now .

the contractors say they have to look out for nests ,but I'm pretty sure they don't .

[slarti b]

Treehugger, I understand your concern about nesting birds and teh timing but pollarding itself is very standard tree management technique, not brutal.

[first mate]

Yes, but is it standard or ethical to pollard in late spring early summer when birds are nesting?

[intexasatthe moment]

Slarti - standard and necessary procedure I grant you but should be done in winter .And still results in a brutal presentation .

"Pollarding should happen when the tree is dormant, in winter, when its leaves have fallen. This allows the tree surgeons to manoeuvre more easily around the tree and see the shape more clearly, it causes less disturbance to resident wildlife and less stress to the tree as there is minimal loss of sap"

which incidentally would be less aesthetically brutal ,less stress for me .Going from fresh glorious green leaves to brown stumps ,heartbreaking .Not to mention the destruction of bird nests .

first world problem I know

[KidKruger]

"first world problem I know"

...not for the birds !!!

[devin3]

I noticed 4 trees removed on the 10 minute walk from my house to ED station a couple months ago. 1 due to insurance, the others for "weak fork" or "imbalanced". The notices all state that a replacement tree will be planted nearby asap. Does anyone know if this is actually done in practice? I recall a couple trees removed from LL a year ago and it doesn't seem that they were ever replaced.

[rch]

It's a shame that this pollarding is happening again so late in the spring... I sorted this out ages ago, but I don't have the same influence now that I'm not a councillor anymore.

I understand that there are longterm tree maintenance issues due to budget cuts over the years, which are now being addressed, but we have a whole new tree team which isn't familiar with the area, so I suspect they are simply repeating past maintenance programs.

I would suggest calling the council's 020 7525 5000 number and making an Environmental complaint by phone (be sure to get a reference number) and request that a tree officer contact you (request an email). The council's new website complaints system appears to be dysfunctional, so try the phone first.

If you see distressed birds, then call the RSPB for advice and report the council.

Can you update us as things progress?

[rch]

devin... I'm still trying to lobby for tree planting in Goose Green ward, but it's difficult due to time constraints.

I'm aware of the 2 trees on Lordship Lane, which I've repeatedly lobbied to have replaced... I was told that this would happen this spring, but I suspect that the Covid-19 issues have reduced capacity during this planting season.

Can you also tell me roughly where the 4 trees on the way to ED station are, as I'm also working on replacing some of those, but I can't tell which road you are referring to in your above post.

Tree maintenance and replacements are happening bit by bit, when funds are available... I recently applied for CGS funding and some specialist maintenance work in Goose Green ward, but none of the tree bids appear to have been approved by councillors. So, I'm going to try to find another way of accessing funds.

Also... if anyone lives near a newly planted tree, then it would be really useful to water it in this dry weather. Unfortunately, the blasted green bags around the tree make it more difficult to water, but try to persevere!

[devin3]

1 on Oakhurst Grove (Insurance)

1 on Elsie Road (Public Safety/Imbalanced)

1 on Derwent Grove (Weak Forked Trunk)

There was a further tree on either Elsie or Derwent, can't recall which.

[rch]

Hi, thanks... I don't usually cut through that area (I usually walk straight through Melbourne), but I'll go have a look during one of my daily walks. I seem to remember various tree issues being very contentious around there, but we've been experimenting with smaller trees that don't block the pavement or block the light. At minimum I can try to check with the tree officer what replacements are being considered.

[sdrs]

I suggest writing directly by email to Southwark?s new chief arboricultural officer, Julian Fowgies

[email protected]

There are trees being pollarded all over south Camberwell too. This is not right, it is not acceptable and the more of us bring it to his attention, the more likely the Council is to take notice.

Not only is it nesting season, pollarding will also rob us all of the canopy cover we need in early summer for cooling and to mitigate against pollution.

This late spring is a terrible practice, the Council should pollard only between November and March.

[seenbeen]

Yes late autumn or early spring- which Julian Fowgies does know about as he was giving instruction on it when he was in Bromley so there is no point contacting him as he's forgotten everything he ever knew!

https://www.ravensbournevalley.org/tree-news.php

[sdrs]

All the more reason to remind him I would have thought! To pollard in late spring is a practice he should be keen to stop to. Pursuing it, in the face of such public disapprobation, in a Climate Emergency and in lockdown, is a terrible look for the trees department.

[intexasatthe moment]

thank you for the address sdrs,I have emailed Julian.

[Johnjohn]

I will be complaining too.

There is a thread on twitter regarding more pollarding by Southwark in Bermondsey, and there is a video of them pollarding a tree with a live nest!

According to the Twitter thread, as a result Southwark have confirmed that ALL Pollarding will cease until November.

I really don't understand why pollarding needs to occur in (late) Spring... surely it should only happen from late Autumn to Winter anyway?

Is this just rogue contractors generating revenue by insisting it needs doing?

[intexasatthe moment]

Swift reply from Julian Fowgies

"Thank you for your email.

I can confirm that routine pollarding/re-pollarding works have now been suspended until November. There are unfortunately a few trees that we have to work on prior to this in the interest of maintaining public safety and specific cases of subsidence damage mitigation (2 trees to be subject to removal owing to extensive basal decay/ 1 tree to be subject to crown reduction works associated with a subsidence case).

As you may be aware subsidence damage to properties has been a particular issue on Barry Road for a considerable number of years. This has been exacerbated in recent years owing to a lack of tree maintenance undertaken in order to manage water demand. During the 2020/21 winter period we will be resuming re-pollarding works on Barry Road (and many others in the vicinity where London Clay is dominant) and will continue to manage the trees on a 2 yearly cycle in order to limit occurrences of future damage to properties and the associated inconvenience experienced by residents.

I do appreciate your concerns with regards to crown retention and the associated environmental benefits with this approach and will adopt this wherever possible.

As part of their pre-works assessment of trees contractors must undertake a wildlife check to ensure that no active nests are present. Disturbing nesting birds is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and as such I am very interested to be informed of any potential breaches to this.

Next week we will be undertaking on site talks with all of our operatives in order to reiterate what is expected of them in this and other respects."

[intexasatthe moment]

" This [subsidence]" has been exacerbated in recent years owing to a lack of tree maintenance undertaken in order to manage water demand. "

does this mean that tree maintenance reduces uptake of water and as a consequence reduces subsidence So less tree maintenance = more subsidence ?

[Penguin68]

If you reduce the tree's canopy through pollarding you reduce or inhibit root spread. 'as much below as above' is a useful and not entirely innacurate mantra to describe the situation.

[Penguin68]

If you reduce the trees canopy through pollarding you reduce or inhibit root spread. 'as much below as above' is a useful and not entirely innacurate mantra to describe the situation.

[apbremer]

I can understand all this to minimise subsidence but why in Dulwich Park?? Some trees have been felled and hideously pollarded at Queen Mary's Gate, miles away from any buildings. It seems to me that there is always some so called "expert" usually with a financial interest more than ready and willing to maim and destroy mature and flourishing trees on any feeble excuse.