News & Press

Elm Felled

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:34:59 +0100

As the issue of the Redland Green Ash trees remain unresolved, other large and important trees are being removed, apparently without consultation all over Bristol. This was one of the last large Wych Elm trees on the Downs.

Anger as Bristol City Council fells Downs elm tree

Stephen Williams visits trees

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:32:29 +0100

Stephen Williams MP came to see the trees first hand in early August and met with us on site for an hour. He too has written to Bristol City Council urging that the trees be retained and drawing attention to the wider issues. BCC also received a letter of concern from The Woodland Trust.

Please help fund our report

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:31:22 +0100

Our report from Treeworks Ltd

LINK TO REPORT

on the ancient trees in Redland Green cost £1,739. By 15th October 2008, thanks a dozen very generous individuals, we had raised £1,355. If you would like to contribute to this report please fill in your details on our contact page

Response to BCC reports

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:30:06 +0100

We responded to the Bristol City Council reports on the trees in Redland Green and The Mall Gardens in some detail. This is because BCC has announced that these trees would be treated as case studies. Read our full comments:

Comments by Bristol Street Trees on the Bristol City Council Arboricultural Surveys for Redland Green Park and the Mall Gardens 22 sept.pdf

Chris Baines speaks

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:28:51 +0100

Professor Chris Baines, writer, broadcaster and urban wildlife expert came from Wolverhampton to visit the ancient trees on Redland Green in August 2008. Chris wrote to BCC council urging that the trees should be saved.

His letter is available: Bristol Chief Exec.pdf

TREEWORKS REPORT FOR BST

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:23:13 +0100

Bristol City Council have condemned four trees in Redland Green Park as dangerous.

Of course, they are nowhere near as dangerous as a car or a knife, but according to the City they are a risk(!) they can’t afford to maintain.

We don’t agree, and we had an independent report undertaken as a comparison.

Read our report RedlandGreenPark.pdf.
Read our Bat Survey BatSurvey.pdf
Read our Usage Survey UsageSurvey.pdf
Read our July Usage Survey UsageSurveyJuly2008.pdf
If you’d like to donate, please see our Funding Proposal FundingProposal.pdf

Read the Council’s tree report HERE (follow the links)

Councillor Ron Stone JOINS the debate

Thu, 1 May 2008 11:50:41 +0100

Ron Stone has a letter published in the Bristol Evening Post. Click here to read it. (opens in new window)

Our Response to R Walker & M Bradshaw

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 15:20:02 +0100

Dear Councillors.

Open letter to Councillors Bradshaw and Walker regarding Street Trees

From your letter to the Bristol Evening Post on 23rd April we think you remain unaware of the crisis facing Bristol’s Street Trees and the dramatic loss of Bristol's urban tree canopy, so we have responded point-by-point to your comments (which we have put in italics) below. We have put this letter on www.BristolStreetTrees.org

As a group, we have come up with a draft street tree strategy. But we have not received any feedback on our specific suggestions from Bristol City Council and remain concerned that likewise it is not even aware that there is a problem regarding the loss of street trees. In addition to problems such as the failure to replant, take advantages of new opportunities to plant and the alienation of the local community, there is a gradual shift in the species of tree chosen towards gardenesque trees that will never become large.

Our response to your comments now follows:

(Councillors’ Soapbox Article in italic on white)
(Bristol Street Trees comments in bold)

“Further to comments by the Bristol Street Trees Group in the Post last week, we would like to reassure readers that the city council takes the maintenance and management of trees in Bristol very seriously indeed.”

We are glad to hear that you are taking the issue seriously. It is unfortunate that one of you (Councillor Walker) didn’t reply to our letter of 8th January 2008 (or take on board the points we had made) where we complained about the misleading nature of a poster. The bill board advertisement, launched by yourself, implied that it was possible to plant street trees in Bristol with funding from the public. Spin is no substitute for getting the job done, so rather than putting up posters which make unsubstantiated claims that could be challenged through the Advertising Standards Authority, we felt that a better solution would simply be to get the job done and work with groups to plant street trees in new locations. We have appended our 8th January letter.

It is also unfortunate that Councillor Walker left the Bristol Parks Forum meeting last August early and wasn’t able to stay to hear our presentation on street trees. We would of course have been happy to present our concerns to her at her convenience some other time. This offer remains open to both councilors and we also hope that we can correct below some of the misconceptions that remain as a result.

“We work with community groups across the city and with national organisations - such as Trees for Cities - to identify opportunities for appropriate tree-planting schemes and planted some 554 trees in public spaces, including on the highway, during the winter tree planting season that has just ended.”

In four lines of text here, we find a very large number of concerns. Nowhere does the paragraph mention street trees, so at a stretch, although misleading, one could argue that most of it is not untrue.

“We work with community groups across the city”

There are numerous examples where Bristol City Council’s failure to consult before the removal of individual trees has antagonised local community groups and is contrary to societal norms and established law. To quote from a complaint regarding the removal of some poplars in Mina Road (downloaded from the Bristol Parks Forum web site on 27 April 2008), “In short, there is a perception around Bristol that the Tree officers are arrogant vandals intent on felling mature trees to save money on maintenance, and living in fear of insurance claims. While I'm sure this isn't the case, this example does nothing to dispel this impression”.

In several cases where decisions to remove trees have been questioned, rather than debate the possible options for managed retention, the matter has been resolved by pre-emptive removal of the trees in question followed by post facto justification. This is a sure-fire way of alienating the very people who care most about trees and under a more positive regime would be the council’s most ardent supporters.

We have urged unsuccessfully for over a year that there should be consultation prior to tree removal, through a proper process. In many instances, when problems are found, there are options other than felling which could be explored through discussion with the local community rather than imposition of arbitrary decisions by council staff who do not even live there.

“…and with national organisations - such as Trees for Cities”

The Bristol section of the Trees for Cities Web site http://www.treesforcities.org/page.php?id=65 mentions the excellent planting projects, funded by HSBC in parks but it does not mention street trees. Indeed, when we contacted the Bristol representative of Trees for Cities she told us that her organisation had no street tree planting projects outside London. We believe it is disingenuous to imply, either in billboard advertisements, or in your letter above that Street Tree planting is now possible in partnership with Trees for Cities.

“…to identify opportunities for appropriate tree-planting”
 Quite simply, it is not at present possible for local groups or national groups to fund the planting of street trees in new locations. We know, because we have tried for some three years to plant two street trees in new locations in Redland. We remain hopeful.

“…and planted some 554 trees in public spaces, including on the highway”

And planting a tree in a park is easy - putting one back in a street is far more difficult, which is why it doesn't happen very much. Of the 554 trees you mention have been planted, we doubt that more than 10% are Street Trees?

“Our programme for the next few years already aims to replace or newly plant at least 600 trees a year and later this year we plan to launch a new scheme to attract commercial sponsorship to help support additional street tree planting.”

At last, a mention of street trees but only in reference to the last clause of the second part of the sentence and consists of a vague promise of the kind we have heard before. We have no idea whether any, or many of the 600 trees a year will be planted on streets. 
“The council has recently invested an extra £100,000 in its maintenance budget for managing the 10,000 street trees on the highway, bringing the total budget for the care of our city's highway trees to almost £300,000.”

Sadly, with as few as 50 new street trees planted this year, “maintenance” seems to be an Orwellian term for felling. We are becoming concerned that budget increases are simply being diverted towards removing still more trees.

“Through our ambitious Parks and Green Spaces Programme we also aim to unlock almost £100 million over the next 20 years to improve parks and green spaces - and this will include resources for the maintenance and replacement of many of the trees that make Bristol one of the greenest and most attractive cities in the UK.”

Well, no specific mention of street trees, so it is hard to comment. As we said earlier, planting a tree in a park is easy - putting one back in a street is far more difficult, which is why it doesn't happen very much.

Regarding Street Trees, the green and pleasant parts of this city are relatively small and are largely there thanks to the foresight of the Victorians and clearly not the legacy of the present city council. Many of these are sadly being whittled away as one by one they are identified as 'a risk' of some sort with no evidence of planned replacement or succession planting (except in Queen Square). For example, the recent highway 'improvements' at the bottom of Jacobs Well Road could surely have included some new plane trees in the event that the existing ones might need to be removed in 50 years time.

We think you are not aware of the great swathes of housing that make much of Bristol one of the most unattractive and least green cities in the UK. 
“Wherever new developments may affect trees, we put conditions on planning permissions to ensure developers replace them - and, where appropriate, will seek investment in landscaping, inluding planting new trees, as part of any planning agreement.”

Such agreements have so far resulted in relatively few street trees being planted (we would be interested to know whether the figure for Bristol is known by yourselves). However, regarding other trees, while you correctly say that planning conditions ensure that developers plant new trees these are only secured for five years after completion. For example, there are many empty tree pits in retail parks and supermarket car parks across the city (and indeed the country as a whole) where trees have evidently been removed in favour of CCTV camera sight lines. Planning powers are clearly not robust enough to stand up to the demands of 'secure by design', CCTV camera requirements and fears of litigation in terms of trip hazards and subsidence claims. While many of the large trees that grace this city are gradually being lost (i.e. managed), much of the newly planted stock seems to have little chance of survival. Unless the city council ensures that lost trees are replaced and that all new development is balanced by an appropriate volume of tree canopy, planted on or off-site, Bristol cannot legitimately apply to become the Green Capital. 
Yours sincerely,

Vassili Papastavrou

Enc Letter to Councillor Walker 9th January 2008.

Councillor Rosalie Walker
Bristol City Council
Council House,
College Green,
Bristol BS1 5TR
8th January 2008
Dear Councillor Walker

Billboard advertisement encouraging the planting of street trees

I am writing regarding the above bill board advertisement, which you launched on 7th November 2007. We very much like the advertisement and think the imagery is clever. However, we feel that it gives the misleading impression that it is possible to sponsor a street tree in Bristol through the London-based organisation Trees for Cities. The images are definitely streetscape images, not images of a city park which is what has drawn us to this conclusion.

Bristol Street Trees is a local organisation which was set up to address the crisis regarding street trees in our city. For more information see www.bristolstreettrees.org I had the opportunity to address the Parks Forum which we both attended last August on the subject of Street Trees. However, by that time you had left the meeting.

For some three years we have tried to get street trees planted in new locations but have so far not succeeded in getting a tree planted at this stage, though that we feel now that we are close to achieving this goal now that the issue has received broad attention. One location is on a pavement build-out and is straightforward and the second is a landmark tree in the middle of Redland Road Roundabout. We have gone round in circles for some years. We received permission eventually in January 2007 and then had permission withdrawn soon after. The services searches were conducted but then ran out due to elapse of a considerable period of time. There has been confusion as to which contractors could actually dig holes or plant trees. Eventually we engaged the support of our MP and the state of play at the time of writing is that we now have the support of Bristol Parks which has now taken on The Engineering Consultancy to design the holes in which the trees will be planted and identify suitable contractors to dig these holes.

We do appreciate the efforts by Bristol Parks subsequent to the Scrutiny Commission meeting to set up a Street Tree Forum, which was one of our two main suggestions. We have high hopes that the many problems involved in planting street trees, briefly mentioned above will somehow be resolved through the Forum. In addition we appreciate the enthusiasm of Peter Wilkinson in particular and his efforts to make progress now.
We feel that the bill board advertisement is misleading for two reasons. Firstly, the Bristol contact listed for Trees For Cities informed us at the time of the press launch that their organisation does not have plans to plant street trees outside London and does not have plans to do this in Bristol (see attached email). Secondly, there is at present no simple procedure for actually planting a street tree in a new location as we have mentioned above. In short, we are not aware of anyone in the last couple of years who has managed to sponsor a street tree in Bristol and get it planted.

We did raise these issues with Peter Wilkinson and with Trees for Cities last November but have not as yet received a satisfactory response hence the reason we have written to you. We would therefore be grateful to receive your confirmation that the advertisement will not be used again until these problems have been sorted out.

Yours sincerely,

Vassili Papastavrou
www.bristolstreettrees.org

Council RESPONDS TO OUR CRITICISM - UPDATED

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:10:05 +0100

Bristol City Council Councillors Walker and Bradshaw have written to the Evening Post. Click here to read their ‘Soapbox’ article (opens in new window).

Click here to read our detailed response.

We’ve posted the following comment on the Evening Post website:

We will respond to Councillors Walker and Bradshaw in detail on www.BristolStreetTrees.org and elsewhere. We felt it was unfortunate that Councillor Walker didn’t reply to our letter of 8th January 2008 and didn’t stay to hear our presentation at the Bristol Parks Forum last August on street trees, so many of the same misconceptions appear in the letter to the Evening Post. It is apparent that they are not aware of the crisis facing Bristol’s Street Trees and the loss of Bristol's urban tree canopy.

In the meantime, those who wish to see their street tree stumps replaced and empty tree pits filled should send the locations and photographs to Quercus (at) bristolstreettrees.org We will be happy to forward them on to Councillors Walker and Bradshaw.

Cavat system for tree assessment

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:42:12 +0100

A report commissioned by the London Assembly said that only 1% of tree removals was justified. As we watch the continuing removal of our trees in Bristol, we wonder what the proportion might be here.

From The Times:
“A plane in Mayfair has been valued at £750,000, making it Britain’s most valuable tree. The valuation of the 6ft-wide tree, which has graced Berkeley Square since Victorian times, is based on a new system devised by local authority tree officers. It takes into account size, health, historical significance and the number of people living near by to enjoy it...” Read more (opens in new window)

FEEDBACK In EVENING POST

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:36:21 +0100

We’ve sent an open letter to the Councillors, and been featured in the Evening Post feedback section in response to their comments last week.

Click here to read their Soapbox
Click here to read our Open Letter to them

CLEAR THINKING ACROSS THE POND

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:13:44 +0100

New York’s Department of Planning has revised it’s local requirements to incorporate a requirement for street tree planting as part of most developments and building projects. Read the text here. (opens in new window)

Note that NYC can opt to use developers’ money to actually replace stumps or put trees in existing empty pits. In the UK the allocation of Section 106 agreement cash (a contribution of money to the community as part of a planning agreement) is not hypothecated in such a way.

Maybe it could be one way for Bristol City Council to get our street trees replaced.

REDLAND GREEN PARK

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:22:42 +0100

Following the removal of the Beech in Cotham, we’ve been in discussion with Bristol City Council regarding the proposed removal of four Ancient or Veteran trees in Redland Green Park. Our latest emails are below:

From: Vassili Papastavrou
Sent: 23 April 2008 08:01 To: 'Russell Horsey' Cc: Bristol City Council Parks Department and Bristol Parks Forum Subject: Ancient trees in Redland Green and reply to yours regarding the removal of the beech tree in Cotham Gardens Importance: High

Dear Russell,

We are in receipt of your email dated 21 April 2008. As you know we have pushed for over a year for a consultation process prior to the removal of trees, rather than justification post facto as below. We are coming to the conclusion that it will be necessary to test our opinion that the complete lack of consultation by Bristol City Council is illegal under law. That it is also not conducive to good community relations was highlighted by many speakers at the inaugural meeting of the Street Tree Forum.

We thank you for your photographs. We can also provide photographs - both of cross sections of apparently healthy trees being removed (in Bristol), and of efforts to retain trees (outside Bristol) that do have problems but are thought to have value. We've enclosed one such example (not taken in Bristol) which shows that where there is a will there is often a way. However, we feel that continuing such discussion on trees that have already been removed is fruitless. We raised the issue of the retention of the Cotham Gardens beech tree following statements by yourselves that crown reduction was a possible option.

The ancient and veteran trees on Redland Green that you had decided to remove represent a much more serious issue as they are a major landscape feature, an important wildlife habitat and pre-date the built environment. One is 300-400 years old. We would like again to draw your attention to the Bristol City Council policy to retain ancient trees and the legal obligations regarding protected species such as bats and nesting birds- in this case great spotted woodpeckers which are seen regularly close to the trees.

We seek your confirmation by return email that we will have the opportunity to review your report, discuss its findings with our experts and consider the various options of managed retention rather than only be provided with selected information once all the trees have been chainsawed.

As we are sure you are aware, managed retention essentially means ensuring any risk is maintained within acceptable levels through options such as removal of branches, decreasing canopy size and regular surveys rather than always simply cutting the trees down.

The future for large or old trees in Bristol remains grim under the present regime. This is of particular concern in the light of the present failure to replace street trees that have been removed and plant trees in new locations, such as on Redland Green Roundabout. Bristol’s urban canopy cover is decreasing dramatically just when it is needed most: it is fast becoming a city of stumps and empty tree pits.

Yours sincerely,

Vassili Papastavrou
www.BristolStreetTrees.org

More on Deanery ROAD Trees

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:57:10 +0100

We’ve had an email regarding the actual state of the Deanery Road Development:

“Thanks for putting my picture of the Deanery Road Plane on the Bristol Street Trees site. One comment - the articles says "At least the other perimeter trees will be retained" this is not strictly true - all perimeter trees have or will be removed. Three very substantial sycamores on the perimeter were cut down at the same time as the plane (you can see them from the aerial photo) and there are around 6 smaller Sorbus and a birch on the rear boundary soon to be felled. At a later stage 2 more sycamores, one very large Birch and an equally large Sorbus are to be chopped down in the car park to make way for realigned car parking spaces. The aerial photo should really have a lot more red circles on it!!!

I know you are not too keen on Sycamores, but in my book a tree is a tree and any tree is better than concrete - these sycamores have lovely blossom in spring, very attractive autumn foliage and there is a pretty amazing yellow and orange caterpillar that feeds on them too!!

In the original architects drawings submitted for this development, there was a row of new trees visible along the frontage opposite the central library. In later drawings, shown in the Evening Post earlier this year, there were no trees visible but a line of cars!

Sorry to be picky about the article, but I've gone through so much grief over this business I'm quite keen that people see the number of trees that are affected -and in my book, no amount of newly planted trees can replace good old yob-proof veterans, especially in the city centre!”

Cotham Beech tree axed!

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:14:24 +0100

We’ve been campaigning for consultation regarding urban trees in Bristol.

All Bristol City Council could do was chop this one down, then let us know by email.

Look at how it’s possible to retain a ‘dangerous tree’ - (hint - it needs commitment from the local authority) and, obviously, a galic attitude!

DEANERY ROAD Trees Removed

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:27:06 +0100

Back in January we commented on the impending loss of a London Plane on Deanery Road.

It was felled this weekend, along with others to make way for the development. It’s a real shame that this tree, at least, couldn’t be saved, by being designed around. At least some of the other perimeter trees will be retained, and new trees planted (according to the plans...).

CITy’s trees gone in 30 years!

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:12:08 +0100

The Evening Post has a feature about Bristol City Council’s Tree FAQ:

“Hundreds of street trees in Bristol are being chopped down and not replaced, due to a funding shortfall.  Up to 400 of the 10,000 trees that line roads within the council boundary are disappearing each year. In many cases, new saplings are not being planted and rows of stumps are left behind.”

... click here to continue reading the feature. (opens in a new window).

BCC TREE FAQ

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:04:25 +0100

Bristol City Council have published a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document on the Parks Department website. It attempts to explain a number of their positions regarding Bristol’s trees, and reveals some terrible statistics. No wonder Bristol Street Trees was formed as an organisation - it seems that before we existed they had little idea of the problems.

Read the document here: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=24499042

We’ll be commenting in detail on the FAQ - check back on this site soon.

Response to petition

Tue, 8 Apr 2008 10:58:44 +0100

The Government have responded to a street tree petition:

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to support the replanting of the country's degrading street tree stock by providing local authorities and community/environmental organisations with the required financial means."

Read the response here. http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page15225.asp

HARTINGTON PARK STUMP TO BE REPLACED

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 11:38:54 +0100

At last! We’ve had an email from Bristol City Council confirming that this stump is to be replaced imminently. Let’s hope so - there’s not much of the planting season left.

They will plant a Tilia cordata because “it does not suffer basal suckering or aphid problems which cause numerous complaints with limes in general”. They are to be congratulated!

On the subject of Limes, though, we do feel that the Council should ignore any complaints from residents of streets with Limes in them. The trees were there first!

Message of endorsement!

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 11:33:54 +0100

We had this email of endorsement for our campaign!

“Well done; the canopy point is important- partly because of the quantity of CO2 absorbed by a large tree of a small one, partly because of the quantity of invertebrates that a large canopy supports in mid summer- crucial to young bird survival, also of any small replacement; but finally that ALL big trees in appropriate locations should be managed as replacement veteran trees. NO tree over 300cm girth should be felled but managed where possible to become a 400cm tree, and in due course 500, and finally to join the very few 600cm giants that still exist in the city. Old , hollow, magnificent trees harbour both invertebrate species and fungal species, let alone lichens and epithytes that occur nowhere else. They also provide nest niches for birds such as Owls. They are as valuable as a Georgian building, or an ancient church and should have the same level of protection.

Richard Bland”

CITIES FOR TREES

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 11:30:28 +0100

Trees for Cities has teamed up with the Woodland Trust to produce this manifesto in the run-up to the London Mayoral election. It’s a good initiative but we would have liked to see more mention of canopy cover as the key measure – our success or failure should be judged in part on the percentage change in urban canopy cover. And, you’ve guessed it, the planting and maintenance of street trees that will become large.

http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/campaigns/london/images/manifestohighres.pdf

Million acres of rainforest saved

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:45:25 +0000

“A deal has been agreed that will place a financial value on rainforests – paying, for the first time, for their upkeep as "utilities" that provide vital services such as rainfall generation, carbon storage and climate regulation.”

Read more here

We need similar ideas for urban trees.

IN AMSTERDAM THEY REPLACE THEIR TREES

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 09:54:15 +0000

I took the photo above in Amsterdam last year. They’ve already replaced it! Why can’t we do this in Bristol???

Tree row heads to court

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:16:39 +0000

Council defends urban trees in Supreme Court action. No, not Bristol but Adelaide, Australia.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/20/2195088.htm

60-100 street trees to be removed

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:16:37 +0000

Bromley, Kent

60-100 street trees to be removed along a busy road, ironically named Green Street Green. http://www.bromleytimes.co.uk/content/bromley/times/news/story.aspx?brand=BMLYTOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsbmlyt&itemid=WeED19%20Mar%202008%2017%3A23%3A47%3A673

We sent in the following letter:

Together we can stop the Chop!

Once again, urban trees are being felled where they are most needed - along a busy road. Unfortunately such trees have no protection and it is only through the vigilance of local people that some are saved. We are losing our urban canopy at just the time that we need it most.

Readers might be interested in our Bristol-based campaign with an active web site www.bristolstreettrees.org which has links to an article I wrote on the BBC web site as part of the Green Room series. Clearly the issue is of international concern as the article received 10,000 words of comment within 36 hours and the moderator had to call a halt to further comment.

EVENING POST LETTER (2)

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:29:23 +0000

Further to the letter in the evening post (14/03/08), our reply has been published today in the Post - there is no link available, but our comment here is the same as the letter we wrote. Click here for the original letter.

NOBODY SAW THEM GOING!

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:45:29 +0000

Surfing the internet yesterday I came across this photo, taken on the Portway some year ago. Sadly these trees have been removed (along with many others).

Bristol City Council have no intention of replacing them. Surely any sel-respecting city would love a proper ‘Avenue’ of trees lining one of it’s major arterial routes or gateways?

Trees like this are exactly the ones needing most protection. They are not near anybody who can speak on their behalf, and nobody notices when they’re gone.

EVENING POST LETTER

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:08:47 +0000

People have noticed Bristol City Council’s increased felling regime in the last month or so, especially in North Bristol. Click here to read the letter to the Evening Post.

WILDLIFE HAVEN

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:11:42 +0000

These trees are ‘veteran’ Ash trees which pre-date the park and the surrounding urban context.

Listen to the Woodpecker that lives amongst them:

Woodpecker.mov

BRISTOL TO BATH CYCLE PATH

Sat, 8 Mar 2008 10:56:18 +0000

We took this picture yesterday.

Let’s just hope these trees needed to be removed, and are not the beginning of the hugh amount of felling that will be needed if the path is turned into a bus lane!

Click here to see our STUMP COLLECTION

BRISTOL STREET TREE FORUM

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 11:41:18 +0000

The inaugural meeting of the forum took place last night. We’ll post a link to the minutes when Bristol City Council publish them, but in the meantime, please click here to download a copy of the hand-out we gave to the attendees.

UPDATE
We have now produced a summary of the meeting in this pdf: Report of First Meeting of Street Tree Forum.pdf

UPDATE 2
Bristol Parks Forum has posted their report here.

bristolstreettrees.org on the BBC

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 08:16:47 +0000

We wrote a long and detailed account of why urban trees are vital to our communities, and in the battle against climate change. Click here to read the item (and the many, many reader comments), in full.

MINA ROAD TREES

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 11:58:26 +0000

Bristol Parks Forum is very upset with the removal, without consultation, of 5 poplars in Mina Road.

To quote from their complaint: “...In short ,there is a perception around Bristol that the Tree officers are arrogant vandals intent on felling mature trees to save money on maintenance, and living in fear of insurance claims...”

Click below to see the complaint
http://www.bristolparksforum.org.uk/Felling.pdf

Click below to visit the Parks Forum website
http://www.bristolparksforum.org.uk

Click here to see the news on the St Werburghs website
http://www.stwerburghs.org/index.php?section=news&story=complaints_continue_over_poplar_tree_felling.txt

Easton Way

Sun, 2 Mar 2008 11:11:22 +0000

Yes, BristolStreetTrees.org does campaign for large trees in our streets. But there are locations where London Planes and Limes are not appropriate, so we’re happy to see smaller trees being planted instead.

However, it is a missed opportunity when, in a large area of unusable land remaining after a highways scheme in Easton Way is implemented, the council chooses to plant Ginkgos instead of anything more substantial.

Why? What is the justification? They are using our money, after all. And Ginkgos are just not going do anything to combat climate change.

Call to plant trees in St Pauls

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:59:41 +0000

BristolStreetTrees has asked Bristol City Council’s Highways Department to put in four new trees as part of the improvements to the St Agnes Gateway / Sussex Place scheme in St Pauls.

Unfortunately the consultation period was very short, and the proposals were buried deep on the website - nowhere in any of the consultation pages, just hidden away under “Lighting - traffic lights”.

As usual with highways schemes, there were no new trees proposed.

Click here to see the consultation documents

TREES IN TOWNS II

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:01:03 +0000

CLICK BELOW TO GET THE SUMMARY:

The Trees in Towns II report assesses the effectiveness of tree Management in urban areas in England. It identifies changes since earlier surveys, including Trees in Towns published in 1993. The executive summary of the report includes information on the quality and quantity of trees; local authority resources and practices in managing urban trees; and the recruitment and skills of local authority tree managers.

The report and wealth of data behind it will be valuable to those engaged in establishing policies and setting appropriate levels of resource to plan, develop, and manage robust urban tree populations.

The executive summary on its own can be downloaded. It is also available to purchase in hard copy, complete with a CD containing the full report, 12 case studies of good or innovative practice and a mapping tool with tree survey data.

BRISTOL STREET TREES @ REDLAND GREEN SCHOOL

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 10:09:59 +0000

With the cooperation of the staff and pupils of Redland Green School, Bristol Street Trees has helped fund the planting of 12 new trees at Redland Green School. These will have many educational uses for the school, and will also provide a ‘living graph’ of the types of trees commonly planted as street trees.

See the Evening Post article: Click here.

The Stump Collection Featured

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:24:17 +0000

Read the full article on the hugh number of lost street trees in Bristol on the Evening Post web-site. Click here.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE (EVER GROWING) STUMP COLLECTION

Bristol Street trees comment on deanery ROAD development

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:11:42 +0000

Click here to read the story from the paper.

Background:

We acknowledge that development is necessary, and that stitching the urban fabric back together is generally a ‘good thing’. We support the removal of small trees, if they are replaced by large species. This development does this, but unfortunately does not protect a beautiful tree on the edge of the site. Unlike the Welsh Back tree this one will not be saved.

Reprieve for Welsh back tree

Tue, 4 Dec 2007 15:50:13 +0000

Following a concerted campaign against over development and the unnecessary removal of an iconic Plane tree in Bristol, the original planning application has been withdrawn, and replaced with a more sensitive proposal. Thanks to everyone who signed the ePetition!!!

Redland Roundabout Tree to go ahead soon. We thank Stephen Williams MP for his support.

Mon, 3 Dec 2007 11:00:39 +0000

Redland Roundabout Tree to go ahead soon. We thank Stephen Williams MP for his support.

One of our key sites for planting a new street tree is the barren tarmac
roundabout at the top of Redland Road. It is one of our test cases to see
if we could get a street tree planted in a new location. We heard that we
had received permission on 18th September 2007. We invited Stephen Williams MP to plant the tree in recognition of his support for our work and on 30th November, he accepted. The planting of the tree is now "high priority". We are very grateful for his help through this long and convoluted process,which one day we will summarise.

See
http://www.bristolstreettrees.org/BRISTOLSTREETTREES/News/Entries/2007/5/11_Parliamentary_Questions.html
For the Parliamentary Questions that he asked on our behalf.

ARTICLE IN THE MILPITAS POST

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 13:26:24 +0000

Why "topping" hurts trees, often leads to decay
submitted by City of Milpitas

"Topping" is perhaps the most harmful tree pruning practice known. Yet despite its harmful effects, topping remains a common practice. Let's take a look at what is meant by topping, why topping hurts trees, and what some better pruning alternatives are. What is topping? Topping is the cutting back of tree branches to stubs or lateral branches that are not large enough to assume the terminal role. The most common reason given for topping is to reduce the size of the tree. Topping, however, is not a viable method for height reduction, and will make a tree more hazardous in the long term. Stressing trees Since the leaves are the "food factories" of the tree, and topping often removes 50 to 100 percent of the leaf-bearing crown of a tree, this can temporarily starve a tree. The severity of the pruning triggers a sort of survival mechanism. The tree needs to put out a new crop of leaves as soon as possible, and latent buds along the branch are activated, forcing rapid growth of multiple shoots below each cut. If a tree does not have the stored energy reserves to do this, it will be seriously weakened and may die. A stressed tree is more vulnerable to insect and disease infestations.

Read more...

IT’S NOT JUST BRISTOL...

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 12:42:08 +0000

From Bexhill-On-Sea Observer:
http://www.bexhillobserver.net/mid-sussex-news/Lindfield-High-Street-trees-till.3518650.jp
Lindfield High Street trees still come down

The High Street trees will be replaced

By Carolyn Robertson

Lindfield Parish Council has voted by 7-3 to support West Sussex County Council's proposal to remove the village's overgrown lime trees in the High Street.
The 36 trees, which have not been pollarded for almost 20 years because of county and district council cash restraints, will be replaced by 26 saplings with pollarding beginning again after five to 10 years.

Another matter causing anxiety to Lindfield residents is the proposal to build 120 homes in the field behind Newton Road which will be the subject of an Extraordinary Meeting called by the parish council at the King Edward Hall next Wednesday (November 28) at 8pm.

Last Updated: 23 November 2007 12:36 PM
Page 1 of 1

THE MADNESS: KILLER PEARS

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:17:15 +0000

IT started when a large pear fell on a man's head - and lead to an entire street's trees being condemned to death by the council's "health and safety police"...

read more here:

http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/content/islington/gazette/news/story.aspx?brand=ISLGOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsislg&itemid=WeED21%20Nov%202007%2015%3A46%3A14%3A793

Bristol City Council Adverts

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:57:24 +0000

Bristol City Council have started an adverting campaign. We applaud their sentiments.

We urge anyone reading this to contact Trees for Cities with a suggestion for a new street tree location!

Banksy planted a street!

Fri, 2 Nov 2007 18:33:16 +0000

Pollard sTREEt GLADioli

Letter to the editor

Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:30:03 +0000

Following last Saturday’s feature we had a further letter published in today’s Evening .

Click here to read the letter.

Trees head comment column

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 09:33:21 +0100

PLANTING TREES WILL SPRUCE UP OUR STREETS
Be the first reader to comment on this story

10:40 - 27 October 2007
Streets without trees can be bleak, dreary places.

Just ask the residents of Leinster Avenue, Knowle West. Or, for that matter, Vassili Papastavrou, a resident of Redland, who features in our Seven magazine today.

Click here to read in full

Major Article in Bristol evening post

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 09:23:31 +0100

Extract:

“Streets need trees, yet one Bristol group believes not enough is being done to safeguard their welfare in the city and it's time things changed. Tim Davey reports

The street where Vassili Papastavrou lives is, as you might expect for one so inextricably involved in all things arboreal, suitably tree-lined.It may not have always been that way, however...”

Click here to read the full article