200 tree cull in park ,Yaxley, Peterborough

[fagus]

The BBC are reporting the tree cull which follows the death of young girl by a falling branch.The expert said this about sudden branch drop;

"This occurs in mature broadleaf trees when a sudden downpour follows a long dry period and water being sucked through the tree causes the brittle branches to literally explode.

 

"It generally happens between the hours of 1400 and 1600 BST.

 

"It is not possible to predict which particular branch might fall, but a specialist would be able to identify the signs," he said.

 

Not sure about his last phrase which is not clear.The signs are the weather conditions but it is identifying the suspect Genera and branch structure that would help. HSE require risk assessments for public spaces this is a phenomenal task for local authorities. A tree policy covering inspection procedure with frequencies is essential.

Any other comments.

[Adam Bourne]

Thanks for posting

 

Not an expert on this subject so can't really comment, but that time line seems questionable? Between 2 and 4 PM I seen a sudden limb fall way before this say 11am ish, one would conclude to be around the hottest part of the day???

 

Adam

[Gnarlyoak]

I am not qualified to argue or debate the mechanics of sudden branch drop, but......

 

Quite frankly I thinks its a deplorable knee jerk reaction implemented by a gutless LA at the behest of corporate lawyers trying to justify their miserable existence in response to a tragic "accident" to remove 200 & probably quite healthy trees!

[Paul Barton]

Or perhaps it's just that the trees were not managed for a time and there are a lot in poor condition?

[littlerob]

i live in Peterborough and can tell you the council neglects everything and spend money on it when stuff really needs doing

[Gnarlyoak]

Or perhaps it's just that the trees were not managed for a time and there are a lot in poor condition?

 

I'm quite sure there is an element of that, and don't doubt that a number of the trees may need to be felled due to lack of maintenance, but I can't believe that there is no other option being considered other than to fell 200 trees in a single park.

 

It just feels as if the bean counters have taken a blanket decision at the behest of lawyers trying to mitigate any future claims against the authority for bits falling off trees.

 

Truth is of course I do not know any of the details behind the LA's decision, it just seems a bit excessive based on one tragic accident. Given the depths that we know the H&S police are more than capable of plummeting too, gave rise to me making a sweeping statement in a knee jerk reaction kind of styley!

[Paul Barton]

FWIW I agree - even with poor past management I doubt that 200 trees really pose an unacceptable risk....but maybe....

[Drayton tree care]

Hi guys. The tree report was done by an independent surveyor who really does no his stuff. I know this as I do work for him. We have been telling the council for years and have actually quoted for work before. He was very angry about these papers and television reports because they have not quoted him word for word what was in the report. The report stood up with the coroners report in court and the family have actually been given a large pay out for there loss.

 

Not that any amount of money could be enough. It is a very delicate case and any contractor put in this position will be scrutinised by everyone but don't believe all in the papers and news.

 

The tree reports previous were apparently done by council chairmans son who has no quals to back anything up. Bit of back hander sort of arrangement so I here but don't quote me as this is down the grape vine.