Thanet’s Trees
Thanet has a lot of parks and green spaces full of beautiful trees. However, like all living things trees can get ill, diseased, old and sometimes die. There are a couple of tree diseases that are prominent at the moment, Sooty Bark Disease (Cryptostroma corticale) which affects sycamore trees, and Chalara Ash Dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) which affects ash trees. Cases of these have been found in parks and green spaces throughout the district and have created a lot of work for our team.
If you have a problem with a tree in the district please check this page – Responsibility for trees
Sooty Bark Disease is mostly affecting sycamore trees in Thanet though it can affect other trees in the acer family but this is rare. Sooty Bark Disease is a fungal disease that normally lays dormant inside acer trees. However, in times of water stress or extreme heat it springs into action and quite quickly kills the infected area. As we seem to be having more extreme weather events lately, it has become more prevalent.
Trees affected by Sooty Bark Disease become brittle and risk dropping large branches so they need to be removed promptly. The spores from this fungus can cause throat irritation and minor breathing problems, and so for this reason you will see the tree teams wearing masks during the removals and the wood is taken away to be burnt rather than chipped or logged.
PermalinkChalara Ash Dieback, known as Ash Dieback, is a serious disease of ash trees which is caused by a fungus called Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. The disease affects ash trees by blocking the water transport systems, causing leaf loss, lesions in the wood and on the bark. This leads to the dieback of the crown of the tree. Trees become brittle over time with branches breaking away from the main body of the tree. If they are not dealt with, trees are at risk of collapsing, presenting an immediate danger to the surrounding area. Once a tree has 75% die back of the crown then they are deemed unsafe in public locations and will be removed for safety reasons.
PermalinkThanet District Council does not remove a tree unless it has a good reason to do so. All trees have a residual risk and it is only when trees have an elevated risk of causing harm to people or property that they will be worked on or removed. Trees have evolved to do the job of collecting sunlight and CO2 without interference or maintenance and can predominantly be left to grow – there is no size limit to a tree!
PermalinkThanet District council has published a new Tree Policy which details how the Council manages trees and prioritises it’s work, including what work we will undertake for safety reasons and what work will be very low priority.
Read the Tree Policy here.
PermalinkOverhanging branches is a common problem with trees In the district. The council will not prune or fell a tree in council ownership or managed by the council to alleviate the nuisance of overhanging branches. However the nuisance caused by overhanging branches may be considered as part of our general tree-work programme, although this programme is subject to resource prioritisation.
Residents have a common law right to cut back encroaching vegetation to their boundary, and to offer the arisings back, although the council does not have to accept the arisings. It is important to note that throwing the trimmings back over the boundary could constitute fly tipping which can have serious consequences for individuals and/or organisations
Permalink