Ash Die Back

Ash Die Back

There is lots of free advice on how to deal with this online this is a good document drafted by the tree council, which would be good to share with tree owners or other councils.

Tree-Council-Ash-dieback-tree-owners-guide-FINAL.pdf (treecouncil.org.uk)

Forestry commission documents are also very helpful.

7894_new_fc_chalara_leaflet_dft9.pdf (forestresearch.gov.uk)

Chalara fraxinea (ash dieback) poster (forestresearch.gov.uk)

The responsibility for trees rests with the owners of the land on which they are growing in, and it is their duty to make sure trees are safe under the Occupiers liability act 1957 and 1984. Should you or they need to employ a professional Arborist/inspector one can be found via this link https://www.trees.org.uk/Find-a-professional .

Test Valley are currently inspecting all our Ash trees yearly and using a 4-stage assessment trying to retain all ash withing the stage 1 and 2 and removing or planning to remove stages 3 and 4 trees for public safety.

There is no one tree recommended for replacement of ashes, it is best to plant a variety of species to avoid another pest coming in and wiping them all out again in one go. Not all native trees are able to cope with our new climate either and Hilliers tree nursery has been doing some research into future proof species Hillier Current Tree Development - Hillier Trees .

I hope this information will be helpful for you and help you to plan management of the ash trees in your area.

Kind regards

Bernice Mcgrail

Aboricultural Officer

Community and Leisure

Test Valley Borough Council

Beech Hurst

Weyhill Road