Reported as re-pollarded in mysterious circumstances on April 15 2025, and criminal investigation underway. All branches removed. Lapsed pollards like this are usually killed by re-pollarding.
The sad fact remains that in 2025 the vast majority of veteran trees recorded on the ATI have no legal protection at all. Far too many local authorities simply ignore the ATI and fail to serve TPOs until, as we see here, it is too late. Council tree protection officers must wake up and treat the ATI more seriously. The ATI represents thousands of hours of dedicated fieldwork by passionate and knowledgeable amateurs who know their patch intimately and in many cases are highly experienced tree recorders.
Work ordered by the Toby Carvery, at the nearby Whitewebbs Park, on alleged health and safety grounds. The claim by their spokesperson that the tree was dead seems to be demonstrably false -see photos. The police seem to consider that there is no criminal case, so the only recourse that concerned locals have would be to boycott this establishment and to encourage others to do so as well. Further, adding a one-star review to their (e.g.) Google profile would be an apt expression of outrage.
The photos seem to show conclusively that this tree was not dead. However, the tree was first posted on the ATI in March 2020. It has been hiding in plain sight on a public database for over five years. It is astonishing that such an important and historic tree supporting an entire ecosystem has not been protected by the local council over this period. Too many local authority tree protection officers seem to be entirely reactive and fail to engage with the ATI ( I speak from personal experience), responding only when it is too late. Any tree recorded as an ‘ancient’ on the ATI should be flagged as a priority for consideration for urgent protection by the local council through serving a TPO.
This Oak should have been the subject of a Tree Preservation Order. The LPA were remiss on this occasion.
The only way that this tree can survive is by putting out epicormic shoots. It's pretty burry so that should be a possibility -as long as the dormant buds aren't covered in bark because of the tree's age. HOWEVER, should it be able to produce shoots then the major risk would be Oak Powdery Mildew (Erysiphe alphitoides). If the putative new shoots become infected with this, then it's end of story. So, keep an eye on the tree and spray with fungicide at the first sign of any infection of new leaves.
The tree was alive prior to this work, I will check for new shoots. Photos can be provided of the tree in green leaf if required.
Yes, please! The likelihood is that the tree has been killed, though. If nothing by the end of May, that's it.
In the case of oaks, repollarding has to be done in multi-year stages, so there is always sufficient foliage to ‘feed’ the tree. Otherwise the roots will die and cannot feed the tree. It’s very likely this fine tree will die.
From the photos, even the bigger branches were intact, with no interior rot. In any event, hollow branches or trunks generally have more structural strength as they are lighter and less liable to twist and snap.
The tree appears to be nowhere near the ‘Toby Carvery’ anyway, so even if it was thought to be a risk it could have been fenced off. It’s certainly not dead, so either the Carvery or the ‘specialist’ or both are lying. Meanwhile, the ‘contractor’ (was this a professional tree surgeon ?) appears to have aimed at maximum possible rather than minimum necessary surgery.
The whole episode stinks of ignorance, complacency, lies and greed. Whoever authorised this should be fired at a minimum and the anonymous contractor publicly exposed.
Reported as re-pollarded in mysterious circumstances on April 15 2025, and criminal investigation underway. All branches removed. Lapsed pollards like this are usually killed by re-pollarding.
The sad fact remains that in 2025 the vast majority of veteran trees recorded on the ATI have no legal protection at all. Far too many local authorities simply ignore the ATI and fail to serve TPOs until, as we see here, it is too late. Council tree protection officers must wake up and treat the ATI more seriously. The ATI represents thousands of hours of dedicated fieldwork by passionate and knowledgeable amateurs who know their patch intimately and in many cases are highly experienced tree recorders.
Work ordered by the Toby Carvery, at the nearby Whitewebbs Park, on alleged health and safety grounds. The claim by their spokesperson that the tree was dead seems to be demonstrably false -see photos. The police seem to consider that there is no criminal case, so the only recourse that concerned locals have would be to boycott this establishment and to encourage others to do so as well. Further, adding a one-star review to their (e.g.) Google profile would be an apt expression of outrage.
The photos seem to show conclusively that this tree was not dead. However, the tree was first posted on the ATI in March 2020. It has been hiding in plain sight on a public database for over five years. It is astonishing that such an important and historic tree supporting an entire ecosystem has not been protected by the local council over this period. Too many local authority tree protection officers seem to be entirely reactive and fail to engage with the ATI ( I speak from personal experience), responding only when it is too late. Any tree recorded as an ‘ancient’ on the ATI should be flagged as a priority for consideration for urgent protection by the local council through serving a TPO.
This Oak should have been the subject of a Tree Preservation Order. The LPA were remiss on this occasion.
The only way that this tree can survive is by putting out epicormic shoots. It's pretty burry so that should be a possibility -as long as the dormant buds aren't covered in bark because of the tree's age. HOWEVER, should it be able to produce shoots then the major risk would be Oak Powdery Mildew (Erysiphe alphitoides). If the putative new shoots become infected with this, then it's end of story. So, keep an eye on the tree and spray with fungicide at the first sign of any infection of new leaves.
The tree was alive prior to this work, I will check for new shoots. Photos can be provided of the tree in green leaf if required.
Yes, please! The likelihood is that the tree has been killed, though. If nothing by the end of May, that's it.
In the case of oaks, repollarding has to be done in multi-year stages, so there is always sufficient foliage to ‘feed’ the tree. Otherwise the roots will die and cannot feed the tree. It’s very likely this fine tree will die. From the photos, even the bigger branches were intact, with no interior rot. In any event, hollow branches or trunks generally have more structural strength as they are lighter and less liable to twist and snap. The tree appears to be nowhere near the ‘Toby Carvery’ anyway, so even if it was thought to be a risk it could have been fenced off. It’s certainly not dead, so either the Carvery or the ‘specialist’ or both are lying. Meanwhile, the ‘contractor’ (was this a professional tree surgeon ?) appears to have aimed at maximum possible rather than minimum necessary surgery. The whole episode stinks of ignorance, complacency, lies and greed. Whoever authorised this should be fired at a minimum and the anonymous contractor publicly exposed.