To: Sean McDaid.

Chief Planning Officer.

ERC.

Dear Mr. McDaid,

Although not within my ward, I have been asked by some residents to make enquiries as to the position of the local authority on the need to fell trees within Crookfur Park within a neighbouring ward. There are 14 in total, one of which, I understand, is dead within a grouping of 60 trees in total. 13 of them are alive and thriving. 12 are believed to be subject of Tree Preservation Orders. Some are suggesting that a report by Ayrshire Tree Surgeons Ltd states that the trees are in perfectly good condition and pose no danger to the public. The types of trees in question are European Larch, Sycamore and Scots Pine. I will of course be scrutinising the factual evidence presented in that report.

Please can you advise as to why the council are intending to fell the trees that are alive?

Regards,

Cllr. David Macdonald

Independent

Ward 4.

East Renfrewshire Council.

29/08/2019
Posted Save Shawwood Greenspace Webpage -

16 hrs

From: McDaid, Sean
Sent: 28 August 2019 12:08
To: Macdonald, D (Cllr)
Subject: Felling of trees in Crookfur Park.

Councillor,

A treeworks application (2019/0487/TPO) has been submitted to remove 12 trees and an Arboricultural Impact Assessment accompanies this application. The application is available to view on the Council’s website at the following link ercbuildingstandards.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/…/appl…

The trees that are subject to the treeworks application are covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) and this TPO covers a much larger area. The trees that are the subject of this application are in a grouping containing approximately 60 individual trees.

The reason for the application is that ground clearance and construction works on the adjacent site resulted in damage to the roots system of number of trees. This damage is likely to cause stability issues, raising safety concerns. These concerns are not just for the construction period but also for the future users of the new family centre and the new replacement play area.

It should be noted that a treeworks application can be approved with conditions requiring replacement trees to be planted, if this is considered appropriate.

I hope this assists.

Sean Mc Daid

Principal Planner

East Renfrewshire Council


Link to documents -

ercbuildingstandards.eastrenfrewshire.go...keyVal=PW49B3GP08600

From: McDaid, Sean
Sent: 28 August 2019 12:08
To: Macdonald, D (Cllr)
Subject: Felling of trees in Crookfur Park.

Councillor,

A treeworks application (2019/0487/TPO) has been submitted to remove 12 trees and an Arboricultural Impact Assessment accompanies this application. The application is available to view on the Council’s website at the following link ercbuildingstandards.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/…/appl…

The trees that are subject to the treeworks application are covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) and this TPO covers a much larger area. The trees that are the subject of this application are in a grouping containing approximately 60 individual trees.

The reason for the application is that ground clearance and construction works on the adjacent site resulted in damage to the roots system of number of trees. This damage is likely to cause stability issues, raising safety concerns. These concerns are not just for the construction period but also for the future users of the new family centre and the new replacement play area.

It should be noted that a treeworks application can be approved with conditions requiring replacement trees to be planted, if this is considered appropriate.

I hope this assists.

Sean Mc Daid

Principal Planner

East Renfrewshire Council

• There is no evidence in the report that supports the premise that damage has been caused to the roots system of a number of trees.

• There are no concerns raised in the report with regards to stability issues.

Is there an update?

What is the current situation?

Have the trees been removed?

Will they be removed?

Communication in from ERC

Further to our recent phone conversation I asked my colleague to take a second look at the trees and consider if was feasible to retain them.

We then sat down and looked at the information at hand and carried out a risk assessment which considered the following:

· The recent Aboriculturist detailed tree report
· Planning approval and conditions
· Health and safety of children and visitors to the park once the new nursery and sports facility is completed
· The proximity of public park area to the trees
· A site visit to review height of trees and topography of the site in relation to new road access and building

We considered the above items and after much consideration concluded that the Council would be leaving itself open to quite a significant risk if we were to leave root damaged trees.

Our main consideration must be for the health and safety of children and visitors in the immediate vicinity and we cannot risk a tree falling when we know the roots have been damaged.

For H&S reasons we have therefore concluded that we require to remove the 12 root damaged trees before the winter and heavy winds start.

I know you will be very disappointed with this conclusion but I hope you understand that we must consider the safety of park visitors at all times.

We will of course replace lost trees with a new species of tree that work well as a group and that attract insects and birds.

Proposed replacement trees
New tree planting proposals to provide a more appropriate group of trees which in the longer term will have higher amenity and biological value than the existing plantation trees.
Larch is proposed to be replaced by native Acer campestre and Prunus avium.
The field maple (Acer campestre) is a broadleaf with a compact habit, tolerant of pollution with rich autumn colours. Acer campestre is the UK's only native maple and supports caterpillars, aphids, and is consequently a major source of food for birds during summer.
Wild cherry (Prunus avium) is a native broadleaf with spring flowers which provide an early source of nectar and pollen for bees; and the autumn cherries are a source of food for birds and mammals. The foliage is the main food plant for caterpillars of many species of moth, including the cherry fruit and cherry bark moths, the orchard ermine, brimstone and short-cloaked moth.
Together these two species provide high amenity value and biological value during spring, summer and autumn.
Recommendations
4 Heavy Standard Trees are recommended at 12-14m Acer campestre (Field Maple) and 4 selected standard 10 - 12cm Standard, Prunus avium (Wild Cherry).
8 trees in total occupy the available space and allow the trees to develop properly into maturity.

I do hope the above proposal offers some small level of comfort that the Council is trying to mitigate the unfortunate situation with the trees.

I want to thank you for sharing your concerns.