UPDATE FEBRUARY 2020
It is back in 2016 that there was furore over the wanton pruning/cutting back of the Ginko trees in Eign Gate that took up endless meetings and arguments. Now the Herefordshire Council, Balfour Beatty, HerefordBID and councillors are discussing it again. This is all entirely unnecessary and hugely wasteful of time and expense. Surely we just need an experienced local arbourculturalist to take our trees in hand – not a multinational whose directors probably think Hereford is in Hertfordshire.
The Herefordshire Tree Forum (www.h-trees.net) evolved in order to promote tree planting and other environmental enhancements in Hereford and the market towns. It includes representatives from
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Herefordshire Council,
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Hereford City Council,
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Balfour Beatty Living Spaces,
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Hereford Civic Society,
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Marcher Apple Network
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Ancient Tree Forum
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Herefordshire Wildlife Trust
Mo Burns represents HCS on the Herefordshire Tree Forum
For more information and the latest news and information on a range of tree topics from Herefordshire and beyond, visit the website www.h-trees.net
Latest News from HTF
Calling all Tree Lovers with time to spare: If you are a tree warden, thinking of becoming one, or simply wishing to know more about this rewarding volunteer role, contact Herefordshire Tree Warden Network (HTWN)
Finally, a trio of links to information on how to create better urban conditions for growing and why this is so important to the environment, human health and our economy. Worth reading.
Beyond the backyard: urban farming helps city folk get back to their roots https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/feb/15/beyond-the-backyard-urban-farming-helps-city-folk-get-back-to-their-roots?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Urban jungle: saving city wildlife with trees, green roofs and pools https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/mar/06/urban-jungle-saving-city-wildlife-with-trees-green-roofs-and-pools?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Nurturing nature: how green features can make a positive impact on business https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jun/27/nurturing-nature-how-green-features-can-make-a-positive-impact-on-business?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Ginko Trees on Eign Gate.
in 2016 Jerry Ross, Co-Chair of the Herefordshire Tree Forum reported that the ten Ginkgo trees planted in Eign Gate had been cruelly lopped,destroying any hope that they would grow to achieve the elegant forms for which they were carefully selected. Despite the fact that over £20,000 of public money was spent on their establishment and that their mutilation was in contravention of Conservation Area legislation, no enforcement action has been taken and there are currently no plans to replace them.
The Lime trees and the A49 road improvement scheme
January 2014
............rush hour and an empty lane, photographed to prove "all of us were right".The limes came down and there is now a seldom used extra lane. See PLACE magazine Summer 2014 -
October 2013
HCS is sickened by the felling of most of these trees by the Highways Agency, by the Edgar Street roundabout. Proper evidence was not provided for the need for an additional lane - the reason put forward the Highways Agency. With the new Link Road due to be in place by April 2015 there is no reason for this extra "concrete". A disgraceful act.
July 2013
The Highways Agency has submitted an application to fell fourteen mature lime trees in Edgar Street to facilitate the A49 road improvement scheme. (Application no. DMS130148K).
However, HCS objects to this proposal by the Highways Agency on the following grounds:-
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Trees and other particulate/pollution absorbing plants such as hedging, should be valued as an essential, designed-in aspect of the urban road infrastructure, especially important for pollution reduction reasons along such high volume roads as the A 49
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Mature trees should only be considered for removal as an absolute last resort, after all other avenues for road ‘treatment’ have been explored, and only trees directly affected by any proven essential road works, considered for removal. This process should be the subject of public consultation, so the Local Authority has the agreement of all parties concerned, including local residents.
There is an alternative to felling the trees which is to achieve the desired result of widening the road by making a slight encroachment on the Old Livestock Market site – a small quid pro quo for the £500,000 ‘sweetener’ which was recently handed by the Council to the developers. Developers often make improvements to the highway network to permit access to their developments, usually this is attained by using the developers’ land – not the existing public realm.
HCS is thoroughly supportive of Cllr Powell’s vision of improving Hereford’s traffic management by introducing imaginative cycle routes and alternatives to car travel.
However this application doesn’t require vision just fairness.