Lewisham Council and Trees

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syd
Posts: 433
Joined: 23 Aug 2006 18:30
Location: lower sydenham

Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by syd »

I found this on Twitter. Does anyone know wtf is happening?

Once-healthy young oak felled by Lewisham Council in Beckenham Place Park along with hundreds of others. Going going, gone.

https://mobile.twitter.com/VermesVivien ... 8251412481
Tim Lund
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Joined: 13 Mar 2008 18:10
Location: Silverdale

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by Tim Lund »

Lewisham Council is working with the National Lottery to find new and better uses for an amazing but financially draining asset it owns.

https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/re ... rplan.aspx
Andyb
Posts: 27
Joined: 7 Jun 2017 14:07
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by Andyb »

Only resantly started using this park with new dog and found it a great park/woods with lots of work going on in the grounds with new trees been planted etc but with others can’t see why healthy trees need to be cut down just to fit wat it used to look like wen mansion house was built, from wat I’ve seen there is enough money to be spent on the buildings first.
KPR
Posts: 99
Joined: 4 Apr 2016 21:06
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by KPR »

The three remaining mature cherry trees in Knighton Park Road are marked for destruction - ‘major tree works’ taking place tomorrow. No doubt we’ll get some skinny twigs to replace them. Our three bone idle and entitled councillors won’t be getting my vote in a few weeks.
syd
Posts: 433
Joined: 23 Aug 2006 18:30
Location: lower sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by syd »

KPR wrote:The three remaining mature cherry trees in Knighton Park Road are marked for destruction - ‘major tree works’ taking place tomorrow. No doubt we’ll get some skinny twigs to replace them. Our three bone idle and entitled councillors won’t be getting my vote in a few weeks.
. Yep seems about right. This council doesn't care about who lives here because in the past no one has complained.
KPR
Posts: 99
Joined: 4 Apr 2016 21:06
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by KPR »

Yep, it’s completely cynical - they hung signs on the trees today for work that will take place tomorrow, leaving no time for any objections. So unless I take the day off tomorrow and tie myself to the trees it’s a done deal.
Newtosydenham
Posts: 41
Joined: 17 Jan 2018 16:13
Location: Lower Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by Newtosydenham »

I got very upset after seeing these signs hung on the few trees on our road. Was very very relieved to come home the following day to see they had been very lightly pruned. Hope the same goes for all the other healthy trees in the area- there aren’t enough!
KPR
Posts: 99
Joined: 4 Apr 2016 21:06
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by KPR »

Hopefully that’s the case here too then, but last time they completely removed the tree, stump and all, and this is the wrong time of year to prune cherry - should be done in the summer to avoid disease (unlike other trees).
Sydenham Syd
Posts: 264
Joined: 30 May 2014 09:59
Location: Europe, until otherwise instructed

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by Sydenham Syd »

KPR wrote:Hopefully that’s the case here too then, but last time they completely removed the tree, stump and all, and this is the wrong time of year to prune cherry - should be done in the summer to avoid disease (unlike other trees).
Think that was because it was too close to a house and buckling the pavement. Law suit risk management
KPR
Posts: 99
Joined: 4 Apr 2016 21:06
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by KPR »

Well in that case at least one of the other ones is for the chop - let’s see.
syd
Posts: 433
Joined: 23 Aug 2006 18:30
Location: lower sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by syd »

KPR wrote:Well in that case at least one of the other ones is for the chop - let’s see.
How's your tree?
KPR
Posts: 99
Joined: 4 Apr 2016 21:06
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by KPR »

Well, panic over - major work turns out to mean minor trim, at least in this case (was worried given that last time the whole tree went in the wood chipper).
syd-gal
Posts: 223
Joined: 28 Nov 2016 15:38
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by syd-gal »

They were in Kent House Rd on Tue with their wood chipper, thankfully only pruning and nothing more drastic.
But quite a few trees have been cut along the River Pool, between Sainsbury's and where the Ravensbourne joins.
mosy
Posts: 4111
Joined: 21 Sep 2007 20:28
Location: London

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by mosy »

I imagine trees that are dying from old age will be more likely to drop whole branches in very bad weather so there might be wisdom to prevent accidents in cutting some of those down. The question these days I suppose is how likely they are to be replaced with new saplings.

There's a list showing tree life expectancies here, assuming reasonable environment: http://www.hellistreeconsultants.co.uk/ ... -live/155/
(Fruit trees tend to live only 15 to 50 years, although apples live longer.)
---
I recall years ago when a householder asked if the dying pavement tree outside could be replaced with a copper birch - and it was. Ah, those were the days ;)
John H
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Joined: 17 Aug 2017 18:15
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by John H »

Most of the trees in Knighton Park Road are infected with a form of fungus which rots the trees from the inside out. This was the case with the tree outside my house. Its roots were infected and an arborist advised it should be removed before it infected all the other trees. He also said the tree was fundamentally unsafe.

It took many years before Lewisham Council finally removed it. At this point the tree was held erect purely by the bark. The inside was like jelly to touch. The roots of the tree had, however, caused water mains bursts and several gas leaks. There remain substantial roots buried beneath the new tarmac patch.

Lewisham lied about their tree maintenance provision and a certain local councillor would not allow me to speak on the issue when an officer turned up claiming they pruned all trees once every three years. The tree outside my house was never pruned by Lewisham in the 27 years I suffered its purple bugs etching away at the paint of my car and the bombardment of purple fruits that stained my forecourt.

Trees are fine in the right place but if they are close to houses then only trees that grow to less than 20 feet are suitable. If large trees are situated within 15 feet of your house then your property insurance is invalidated. That issue cost me £120,000. The problem was nothing to do with the tree but the insurance company used the presence of the tree as an excuse to refuse to pay out. Trees that deposit mites that excrete purple dye are not suitable where cars have to be parked and rapid growing trees will inevitably cause subsidence.

One thing worth remembering is that trees only make a net reduction to Carbon Dioxide while they are young.
KPR
Posts: 99
Joined: 4 Apr 2016 21:06
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by KPR »

Hi - have you got a source for your ‘most of the trees are infected’ assertion? There are only three large trees left and none of them are jelly-like.

You are right that cars get covered in stuff falling from the trees - and bird crap when the fruits are out and the pigeons come to feed (which does permanently damage paint if you don’t shift it quickly). However, I like the blossom that appears around this time of year (and the bees that come to feed on it) and I like having mature trees in my street not skinny twigs. I am therefore prepared to park my car somewhere else or take it to the car wash.

If an insurer tried to screw me on having a non-invasive tree outside my house I would take them to the ombudsman.

I don’t care about the marginal carbon uptake differences between one kind of tree and another in this context - these aren’t forests we’re taking about but trees planted for aesthetic reasons.

The Council is useless in many respects, so that we do agree on - pruning these trees at this time of year invites infection.
John H
Posts: 278
Joined: 17 Aug 2017 18:15
Location: Sydenham

Re: Lewisham Council and Trees

Post by John H »

You are right that few of the old trees remain. Complaining to the ombudsman will get you nowhere. The condition is clearly identified in the terms and conditions of EVERY property insurance policy. Even special perils policies exclude tree damage for large trees close to the property.

In my case the tree was not within 15 feet when I took out the policy but for some reason unequal growth of the roots had shifted its position so that it was. I have photographs that prove it had moved. When I moved in the tree was not even in front of my property. At the time of the work it was.

There is nothing aesthetically pleasing about a tree that brings your house down!
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