Massacre of a private wood in one of Bristol's largest and most popular parks
How can trees be better protected in Bristol?
3 comments:
Anonymous
said...
At the moment everyone's fighting their own local battles to save the greenery in their area.
We need to be networking more together to put our combined pressure on BCC more effectively to stop this ongoing densification and overcrowding, as well as their obsession with "Health & Safety".
Bristol City Council need to start appreciating how very important green space is for people's health and well-being.
These are shocking images! - and you're right that coordinating our efforts can only be of benefit, which is why the Woodland Trust has launched WoodWatch. The Trust can't always protect local trees and woods as much we'd like to and we're hoping you can find enough help online to get you started.
Visit www.woodwatch.org.uk to get resources and guidance on how you can run campaigns and how to navigate the planning system in order to fight for trees and woodlands in the future.
There's also a WoodWatch facebook page to get groups talking and sharing experiences http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Woodland-Trust-Woodwatch/8744417036
You can contact us as well, at woodsunderthreat@woodlandtrust.org.uk.
Unlike breaking hammers, jackhammers are mostly made to break up horizontal material. To get the bit started, place it where you want to break (and these tools are NOT precise, so be careful – the bit will strike above and below the point you start at), and squeeze the trigger on the hammer. I’ve seen guys place the bit between their feet to get the bit started on new material, but this can be very dangerous. That’s 61 ft/lbs (or more) of pressure if you slip up, and will easily crush your foot. Don’t do it.
A Bristol landowner could face prosecution after 70 trees were felled in woodland at Eastville Park without permission. Residents were shocked when dozens of ash trees, some up to 35 years old, were chopped down by workmen who arrived equipped with chainsaws on Sunday morning. The Forestry Commission is now considering legal action against the landowner because no licence was in place for felling so many trees.
Bare stumps now litter the decimated woodland, which is privately owned and stands next to Eastville Park near Ashdene Avenue. Bristol City Council has reacted by placing tree preservation orders on the remaining trees in the wood in a bid to protect them against further felling. The authority is now trying to establish who owns the land, why the trees were cleared and if they will be replaced.
Patrick Kenehan, who lives in nearby Park Avenue and is a volunteer at the park, says the woods are seen as an extension of the council-owned park. He said: "The way the trees were cut down was very haphazard and indiscriminate. They must have chopped down up to 30 tonnes of wood – it was awful. Someone saw two men with chainsaws carrying out the felling on Sunday and when asked what they were doing they said they were 'doing a clearing job'."
Bristol City Councillor Steve Comer (Lib Dem, Eastville) said: "The trees were chopped down in a very odd way. They were hacked at and it's not what you would expect from professional tree surgeons. I've had a lot of calls about this from people concerned that this could end up ruining a natural woodland which adds to the charm of Eastville Park."
Bristol City Council spokeswoman Helen Hewitt said: "The woodland is not subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) nor is it within a Conservation Area. However, a TPO is being served today to protect the remaining trees and site notices have been erected on site. Attempts are being made to contact the landowner to discuss the situation."
The Forestry Commission is investigating whether an offence has been committed under the Forestry Act. Jo Fowler, spokeswoman for the Forestry Commission, said only a small amount of timber should be felled each quarter if no felling licence was held by the landowner.
The trees at Eastville Park were axed just a week after campaigners saved trees in an ancient woodland in Stapleton from the chop. Some 27 trees in Grove Wood next to the River Frome were set to be felled after the council gave the landowner the go-ahead at a meeting in June. But members of the Snuff Mills Action Group gathered a petition of 4,500 signatures and dozens of letters of support for a TPO on the whole wood in Bristol.
An Evening Post Comment
Cutting down the trees is a common ploy used by developers, the presence of trees can be a problem should a planning application be submitted. The council appears to have good green credentials but the truth is houses come first. I work for a tree surgeon and we have just felled 8 perfectly healthy trees on two different inner city sites to make way for new housing. I know its wrong but it is BCCs decision to clear trees for housing and not mine. In this case I suspect more skullduggery is underway. There is a charitable group called Planning Aid who will help you fight any unwanted development.
3 comments:
At the moment everyone's fighting their own local battles to save the greenery in their area.
We need to be networking more together to put our combined pressure on BCC more effectively to stop this ongoing densification and overcrowding, as well as their obsession with "Health & Safety".
Bristol City Council need to start appreciating how very important green space is for people's health and well-being.
http://www.bristolstreettrees.org/Information.html
http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Environment-Plann...age=2
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7714950.stm
"A bit of greenery near our homes can cut the "health gap" between rich and poor, say researchers from two Scottish universities.
Even small parks in the heart of our cities can protect us from strokes and heart disease, perhaps by cutting stress or boosting exercise.
Their study, in The Lancet, matched data about hundreds of thousands of deaths to green spaces in local areas.
Councils should introduce more greenery to improve wellbeing, they said. "
These are shocking images! - and you're right that coordinating our efforts can only be of benefit, which is why the Woodland Trust has launched WoodWatch. The Trust can't always protect local trees and woods as much we'd like to and we're hoping you can find enough help online to get you started.
Visit www.woodwatch.org.uk to get resources and guidance on how you can run campaigns and how to navigate the planning system in order to fight for trees and woodlands in the future.
There's also a WoodWatch facebook page to get groups talking and sharing experiences http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Woodland-Trust-Woodwatch/8744417036
You can contact us as well, at woodsunderthreat@woodlandtrust.org.uk.
Unlike breaking hammers, jackhammers are mostly made to break up horizontal material. To get the bit started, place it where you want to break (and these tools are NOT precise, so be careful – the bit will strike above and below the point you start at), and squeeze the trigger on the hammer. I’ve seen guys place the bit between their feet to get the bit started on new material, but this can be very dangerous. That’s 61 ft/lbs (or more) of pressure if you slip up, and will easily crush your foot. Don’t do it.
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