Update on the Horse Chestnut Tree in the Kinecroft (By Cllr Steve Holder) 29th April

Update from Councillor Steve Holder

29 April 2022

By way of further update, at the council meeting in the town hall on Monday 25 April 2022, it was agreed to do further investigations and surveys to check the life of the tree before any further work is done on the tree.

We are going to commission an ultrasound tomograph, which includes full diagnostic decay mapping in 3D, wood strength loss calculations, quantified risk assessment and recommendations on future management presented in a report. We will then decide on further action once this has been completed which we hope to have finalised in the next two weeks.

Update from 16^th April 2022

We have been advised that the tree is dying and that it has a fungal disease. Fullers have had a tree survey and advised us the tree is also damaging the structure of the pub.

SODC tree officer has been out to review the tree and this is part of the report.

“Advisory: T2 is a prominent tree with significant landscape value and contributes to the character of the area. A site inspection undertaken by a council tree officer found the tree to have significant structural defects that reduce its safe useful life expectancy. There was also evidence of direct damage to the building caused by the main stem exerting pressure on the brickwork due to its close proximity to the outer wall. For these reasons the tree does not meet the criteria for inclusion in a Tree Preservation Order and the council does not object to the removal of the tree.”

We at the town council have had our tree surgeon out to survey the tree and we will also get an ecologist out to check for birds nesting before anything is done.