HCR

I would say it's a grey area. I wouldn't like to bet on which way a prosecution would go, but given that the landowner has been informed that the activity will cause damage (and therefore criminal liability) he is on shaky ground if he allows the activity to continue. Damage is damage, however long a track has existed. If it was a highway, that might be a different matter but from what you have said I don't think that is the case. A felling application might be the best way forward, especially if it is matched with a woodland management scheme in areas that tracks don't cross. If he fights it, he'll probably get nowhere. If on the other hand he goes in with a positive approach, he might make some good friends at the LPA.

IE8, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise edition, but it's been working fine again for the last day or two. The animated dog telling me that Steve would fix it was fun though!

From this morning's COBR meeting: The effort to address the ash tree disease Chalara will mobilise the general public and focus attention on trees that show resistance to the disease as part of an action plan announced today by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson. Following an unprecedented effort across Britain to identify areas where Chalara has infected trees in the wider environment, the Government this week brought together scientists, campaigners, charitable groups and woodland agencies to discuss what action should be taken. The immediate plan of action was agreed at the Government’s emergency committee COBR, which Mr Paterson chaired this morning. After the meeting, the Environment Secretary set out the Government’s objectives for tackling Chalara. These are to: • reduce the rate of spread of the disease; • develop resistance to the disease in the native UK ash tree population; • encourage citizen , landowner and industry engagement and action in tackling the problem; and • build resilience in the UK woodland and associated industries. Mr Paterson set out an immediate plan of action to meet those objectives, building on the ideas discussed at the Chalara and Tree Health Summit on Wednesday 7 November. The advice of stakeholders, scientists and other experts at that discussion, agreed today at the COBR meeting, was that in the short term: • Newly-planted diseased trees and diseased trees in nurseries will be traced and destroyed, as once young trees are infected they succumb quickly. • Mature trees will not currently be removed, as they are valuable to wildlife, take longer to die and can help us learn more about genetic strains that might be resistant to the disease. Infection does not occur directly from tree to tree. • Better understanding of the disease will be built through research and surveys, which will look not only for diseased trees but for those that show signs of genetic resistance to Chalara, to help identify genetic strains resistant to the disease. • The search for the disease will include trees in towns and cities as well as the countryside, building partnerships with a range of organisations beyond Government. • Foresters, land managers, environment groups and the general public will be informed about how to identify diseased trees and those likely to be resistant to the disease, and know what to do if they find a diseased tree. The Government has already introduced a number of control measures to reduce the speed of spread, which are in line with these recommendations. A ban on import of ash trees and movement of trees around the country remains in place. Immediate action is being taken to remove and destroy infected trees found in nurseries or in recently planted sites. Where infection is found in mature trees, the scientific advice is to leave them where they are as infection does not spread directly between trees, but only via the leaf litter. Speaking after the COBR meeting Owen Paterson said: “The scientific advice is that it won’t be possible to eradicate this disease now that we have discovered it in mature trees in Great Britain. However, that does not necessarily mean the end of the British ash. If we can slow its spread and minimise its impact, we will gain time to find those trees with genetic resistance to the disease and to restructure our woodlands to make them more resilient. “The groups that put such a lot of effort into looking after our wildlife and our countryside will play a major role in minimising the impact of Chalara and so will the general public, especially when it comes to spotting other areas where the disease has taken hold. “Our plans have been developed through bringing together Britain’s top experts and listening seriously to their advice. We now have a window of opportunity for action because the disease only spreads in the summer.” Over the coming weeks the Government will work with scientific experts and other interested groups to further develop and implement the measures in the plan, and to set a longer term approach to tackling Chalara. COBR agreed that this approach will also consider: • Designating protected zones, to free up trade in ash from areas free of the disease through authorising businesses to issue “plant passports”. • Establishing a tree health early warning network to provide advice, screening and initial diagnostics. • Developing advice on protecting saplings and responding rapidly if the disease is found. • Developing advice on sustainable management of mature trees on sites affected by Chalara. • What additional equipment is needed to diagnose tree disease. • Improved biosecurity including import controls. • More public engagement in helping diagnose and tackle disease through “citizen science” including an OPAL (Open Air Laboratories) citizen science project. Details of the plan of action are available at Written Parliamentary Statement: Ash Tree Dieback Defra News

Interesting article from the BSBI as a counter to the doom and gloom: Ash Dieback

Intent can exist in several forms in law; direct intent (purpose, foresight of certainty), indirect/oblique intent (requires foresight of the consequences). R v Moloney (1985) HL "foresaw, as natural consequence" The draft criminal code seeks to codify existing common law thus: "A person acts ‘intentionally’ with respect to...a result when he acts either in order to bring it about or being aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events."

I haven't spotted it yet either, though to be honest I've been too busy with mundane stuff to do as much hunting as I'd like to. I had a quick peek at some F angustifolia yesterday - in rude health, apparently.

The detection of the disease is as follows: Nursery sites - 15 Recently planted sites - 39 Wider environment - 61 If it was all nurseries and new plantings, I'd be very dubious of the wind theory, but as it stands it's mainly present in established sites.

In response to comments made on another thread about the likelihood (or otherwise) of spores blowing over from Europe: The prevailing wind is from the SW, but it does sometimes blow from other directions as well. You can check data here: Weather Station History | Weather Underground June to October is the sporing period, so a couple of days of the wind blowing from the continent in those months in 2010 or 2011 would have done it. Yes, it's rather convenient for the govt to say it blew over the sea, but the depth of infection suggests it's had at least one reproductive cycle here. However, I'm still furious that the govt failed to take any action in 2009 (or before!!) when the problem was spelt out to them.

For interest? Because I felt like it? Because it traditionally gets wheeled out when this subject comes up? Who cares?

Not totally relevant to the original question, but good advice all the same. RFS report back on Ash Dieback summit, 7 November | RFS

It took me a while to work out what that bottom picture was! .

What biosecurity measures were in place? Interesting about it only being on younger trees.

Clay is a shrinkable soil, you can carry out further tests to establish the plasticity index (Atterberg limits) but there are far simpler tests to determine whether or not it is clay. Does it polish when a spade is pushed through it? Can it be rolled into a very fine sausage? (and then bent into a ring shape?) Look on the bright side - if the tree falls onto the house it will have almost no momentum by the time it strikes the building; far safer than a tree further away!

Uninsured amateurs having accidents won't have a huge impact on insurance costs - as far as I know there is no Motor Insurers' Bureau type of organisation funded by insurers. If 90% of our trees end up infected, then there won't be much point in internal movement controls, will there? Pre-emptive felling is a mistake.

I'm sure there's a Victorian era poem somewhere that will offer almost unlimited accurate advice on this matter. Some people might even take it seriously.

And one who's been burning wood on open fires and stoves for 40 years at that! Some of us can spot the difference between fact and folklore bull. 'Ash before oak, you're in for a soak' Pretty sure oak was out first round my way this spring.

Indeed. Like most old nonsense, I think the rhyme is not meant to be taken too seriously.

^^ Good post. The loss of many ash trees will be a significant one, but there will also be opportunities. This is an excellent short article: Ash die-back is now a fact of life ? what now? | Wild Comment Saproxylic species may benefit. Knee-jerk felling/burning etc is (a) pointless and (b) counter-productive. I'm deeply alarmed at some suggestions (including from Professor Boyd at Defra) that hybrids/alternatives can be injected into our ecosystem to replace ash. This could prove worse that Chalara itself. Another point is that our ash came from a south western Europe enclave after the last ice age, and other country's stock came from the south east (e.g. Denmark). This means that the two populations were genetically isolated for a long time; not long enough for speciation to occur, but enough for unique mutations to take effect. For this reason alone, we need to be very cautious about how me react. I strongly suspect that our ash population will respond quite quickly (given the prolific seeding nature of the species) and a resistant strain will probably prevail within our lifetimes.

Beech-wood fires burn bright and clear If the logs are kept a year; Store your beech for Christmastide With new-cut holly laid beside; Chestnut's only good, they say, If for years 'tis stored away; Birch and fir-wood burn too fast Blaze too bright and do not last; Flames from larch will shoot up high, Dangerously the sparks will fly; But ash-wood green and ash-wood brown Are fit for a Queen with a golden crown. Oaken logs, if dry and old, Keep away the winter's cold; Poplar gives a bitter smoke, Fills your eyes and makes you choke; Elm-wood burns like churchyard mould, E'en the very flames are cold; Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread - So it is in Ireland said; Apple-wood will scent the room, Pear-wood smells like flowers in bloom; But ash-wood wet and ash-wood dry A King may warm his slippers by.

From the current regs: Prohibited activities This section has no associated Explanatory Memorandum 13. Without prejudice to subsection (7) of section 198(1) (power to make tree preservation orders) or subsection (1) of section 200(2) (tree preservation orders: Forestry Commissioners) and, subject to the exceptions in regulation 14, no person shall— (a)cut down; . (b)top; . ©lop; . (d)uproot; . (e)wilfully damage; or . (f)wilfully destroy, . any tree to which an order relates, or shall cause or permit the carrying out of any of the activities in sub-paragraphs (a) to (f) to such a tree, except with the written consent of the authority and, where such consent is given subject to conditions, in accordance with those conditions. (my bold) There's no need to prove which driver caused the damage - the landowner would be criminally liable. Can he simply apply to fell the trees that have roots in the tracks?

I do know the answer to this as it happens, having been involved in a very long process looking at precisely that issue. No, you can't, other than by Judicial Review to look at the LPA's processes. There is no provision for it in the TPO legislation.

The TO need to have his bumps felt then! Is he aware of a threat? Yes, because you told him about it. Threats take many forms, planning applications being only one of these. And the question to be asked is: is it expedient to protect the tree? If the tree meets all the other criteria then this is easily going to stand up to challenge.

And it's doing it again. arbtalk.co.uk automatically redirects to http://arbtalk.co.uk/profile.php?do=dst which goes into an animated 404 screen with a dog. A talking dog no less. And no, I haven't been at the sherry.

It happened yesterday after not visiting for nearly a month. Happened again this morning. Then immediately after I posted I tried again and it didn't happen. Cache is cleared automatically on a regular basis...

Getting 404 and a picture of a dog running when I visit the page arbtalk.co.uk Slightly annoying as it locks up my PC and takes a while to navigate away. Obviously I've updated my bookmark by putting /forum on the end but there must be a problem of some sort.