Parishioners may have noticed extensive work going on on the trees in the church grounds this week, including the very sad removal of a substantial horse chestnut bordering the A4.
We are required by the terms of our insurance to maintain the trees in our grounds in a safe condition. After part of a yew tree came down in storms earlier this year the Finance Committee arranged a condition survey of all the trees in our grounds. The horse chestnut by the A4 was found to be in a very dangerous condition with a rotten split in its main trunk reaching down almost to ground level. It had to be removed because of the danger to those of us using the church, to pedestrians and vehicles on the A4, to our church building, and to our neighbour’s property.
This photograph shows the extent of the crack through the trunk after it was felled and the size and weight of the tree. It took two 10 tonne truck loads and 2 cargo trailers to remove the tree from site. This would have been very dangerous if it had come down during a storm.
The remaining works have sought to reduce wind resistance and improve light penetration to stimulate healthy growth. More extensive pruning was needed on one oak tree on our boundary which was touching the roof of one of the buildings in the business park.
All the work has been carried out with the approval of the local authority as most of the trees in the garden are subject to Tree Preservation Orders
