Beech tree for the chop

[defender]

Hi any hints on how to stop my local council (Norwich City) from felling a beautiful,Beech Tree .Its over hundred years old,Its by a main road and the council is stating public safety,any ideas ?

[stripee]

It's very sad. Councils are busy getting rid of big trees in cities and everywhere they can because of public liability and fears of legal expenses. Insurance companies are demanding total removal of trees in gardens where they used to accept pruning back especially in clay areas where they think big trees suck up too much water and cause subsidence even when a tree is a long way from a property and is unlikely to cause problems. Soon the only trees planted will be little inoffensive ones without slippery fruit or leaves in case someone skids.
But you could try saying to them why not prune it back rather than remove it...

[Meta menardi]

That is a very tricky question, once "Safety" gets invoked you are fighting experts, with big premiums to cover if they are wrong.
If you ever ask someone to tell you if you can do something, relying on their expertise, you have to be told you can't.
I imagine there is a report on the condition of the tree somewhere. Can you get a contrary report, backed by a similarly qualified expert? Can you afford it.

It is a strange situation, could you get an expert to say you should plant Laburnam (Poisonous), Laurel (Poisonous), Potatoes (Foliage an flowers poisonous) near to anywhere the public has access to?

Bad news.

[defender]

Bats roost in the tree would this help to save it?

[The Woodman]

Mature beeches can be susceptible to many fungal and bacterial infections. This is a natural process and in the right place, the tree could grow old gracefully, shedding bits and pieces as we all do in time. Depending on the type of infection, beech timber can rot very quickly and cause a large tree to become unstable and therefore unsafe.
The Arborists report will tell you why the course of action has been taken.
It may not be best practice to replant with the same species because of the aggressive nature of some infections i.e. Honey Fungus.
It's always sad to see a beautiful tree removed before it apparently has reached the end of its life.
The presence of bats in a tree may not stop its removal if public safety is the overriding concern.
In south Cumbria, a number of beeches were removed on similar grounds some years ago in the Rusland Valley by the National Park Authority in a well knownh beauty spot. When they were felled and lying on the ground, the rot holes, cavities and problems were plain to see. There was a great uproar at the time, I think due to way in which the NPA handled the incident, but that's another story.

[poschiavanus]

Its worth while finding out what the reason for felling.

In recent years a fungus Meripilus giganteus, the Giant Polypore has been identified as a significant pathogen of beech. It affects the roots without being obviously visible (it fruits annually), and can cause an infected tree to be unstable by removing underground support.

On the other hand some councils have tried to approach the issue a bit more sympathetically.

poschiavanus

[Alantb]

One may not approve, it's a shame, but councils are forced to err on the side of caution with large beech trees.
One problem with beech is that the branches are incredibly heavy and have been known to drop without warning. A few years ago (1999?) there was a widely reported case in Yorkshire when a branch fell on a group of walkers, killing one man and badly injuring his wife. The weight of the branch was estimated at 30 tons; this was probably a wild exaggeration but nevertheless it took a long time and special equipment to raise it from the unlucky people.
This tree was in a long avenue of beeches and may have been the same tree on which I had some time previously noticed a large polypore.

Sorry, Alan

[Anyanka]

However, more people are killed by cars than by trees, and nobody is suggesting the removal of cars as a precautionary measure.

Yes, I know I'm being facetious, sort of. But I'm also very very fond of trees. Councils appear to have all sorts of reasons for taking them down, but not so many for planting new ones.

[The Woodman]

Interesting. I wonder how many more deaths would occur if there were no MOT's. I would rather live life and drive on our roads knowing that the great majority of cars had been tested to a standard. It's pretty much the same with trees in public places, i.e. yearly checks required under risk assessments.

I realise that there is another factor in the driving analogy - the driver -whose actions may rsult in an accident and nobody drives trees.

The removal of one tree will make more press coverage than the planting of new ones. I was heartened to see the new Mayor of London in the paper yesterday living up to his promise and planting a standard tree with a group of gloved up kids, a story to keep the balance perhaps. I dont think we'll see Boris holding a chainsaw!

Re Alans comments about summer branch drop. Incidents are more common than people think because only the interesting stories get to us. Nobody gets to know about the branches that fall from trees deep in the woods or out in the open fields. Ever wondered why (the cause, not gravity) those big banches lying beneath the tree in the field got there?

[Anyanka]

Fair enough, Woodman, and well put. It was a bit of a stupid analogy...

[Paul mabbott]

Sorry, haven't read all of the history of this but has anyone considered pollarding the tree? Most ancient beeches in UK are pollards and the hazard seems to be from overlong boughs ....