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Trees are under unprecedented threats
Canker, blight and moths kill our trees
Stagecoach demanded Victoria Avenue chestnut tree branch lopping
Cambridge City Council have finally had to accede to demands by the County Council Highways department that several large tree branches on a chestnut tree adjacent to the 'Armadilloo' on Midsummer Common be lopped off because they overhang the bus layover bay.
Trees were damaging double-decker buses. Click for video
It appears that insurance considerations finally prompted the cutting work which was witnessed by the SOS chairman. Ironically Stagecoach had long complained that the trees were damaging their buses, although the reverse was certainly true - bark had been ripped off several limbs by bus movements over some period of time. Despite the company denying the fact, Stagecoach drivers mount the pavement with their vehicles before straightening up in the bay, further endangering the tree branches at a greater height, and nearer to the trunk than necessary.
Clearly the layover bay should either not have been created there, or restricted to single decker vehicles, or double deckers prevented from damaging trees by restricting where they park. It appears that despite lengthy negotiations, the county highways department were not willing to make any changes to the bus layover bay, so the trees had to be lopped. In the spirit of greater transparency and public participation over tree matters, it would have been good if we had been made aware of the situation at the recent tree seminar, as public pressure on Stagecoach and the councils might yet have brought about a change in the situation, and prevented this event, and indeed future occurances. In our opinion, keeping this issue under wraps has not been a good policy.
We consider the above events to be a very unsatisfactory, and will be making representations to city and county councillors. You might like to do so yourself. The new executive councillor for Arts and Recreation, with responsibility for the green spaces is Cllr Rod Cantrill (Newnham), and he and your local city councillor's contact details can be found here and your county councillor can be found here [16/07/10]
Urban tree survey
A three year project has been announced to map our urban trees. The aim is to discover how climate change is affecting when they flower and fruit. The public is being urged to take part in the survey, which is being organised by the Natural History Museum in London. [16/07/10]
Cambridge Tree Seminar
The City Council held a tree seminar on 1st July. Participants were given a number of presentations by council officers, and then participated in a number of workshops where tree planting strategies for Jesus Green and Midsummer Common were mapped out. These were then displayed to the whole group. Officers will now collate the results and work out a proposed planting scheme. It is planned to plant trees over the coming winter. Inveterate blogger Richard Taylor attended, and has written up his experience. [16/07/10]