Agenda item

Public Questions

a)    Ed Wilson of Clewer and Dedworth West ward will ask the following question of Councillor Rayner, Lead Member for Culture and Communities:

Given your manifesto pledge to plant more than 2,000 trees in the Royal Borough, will you please tell us when new trees will be planted to replace those removed from St Andrews Crescent, Testwood Road and Hayse Hill?

 

(A Member responding to a question shall be allowed up to five minutes to reply to the initial question and up to two minutes to reply to a supplementary question. The questioner shall be allowed up to 1 minute to put the supplementary question)

Minutes:

a)    Ed Wilson of Clewer and Dedworth West ward asked the following question of Councillor Rayner, Lead Member for Culture and Communities:

Given your manifesto pledge to plant more than 2,000 trees in the Royal Borough, will you please tell us when new trees will be planted to replace those removed from St Andrews Crescent, Testwood Road and Hayse Hill?

 

Councillor Rayner responded that she was pleased to be able to confirm that as part of the pledge to plant 2,000 trees over the next four years, the trees removed which Mr Wilson had referred to would, where feasible, be replanted during the next tree planting season, which was between November 2019 – February 2020.

 

The trees in St Andrews Crescent were in terminal decline with extensive dieback of the crowns and decay evident.  The Silver maple in Testwood Road had a defective stem union.   All had been removed for health and safety reasons. There was no recent record of tree removal at Hayse Hill but there were some small vacant planting pits adjacent to the narrow path between Hayse Hill and Maidenhead Road, indicating where trees may have grown previously.

 

Six new trees were due to be planted in St Andrews Crescent and the council was assessing the constraints concerning the planting of a tree in Testwood Road and trees at Hayes Hill.  The latter would require the widening out of the pits to provide a sufficient rootable volume to allow the trees to successfully establish. Alternative sites would  be found close by, if planting could not be achieved there.

 

She was also delighted that 7,000 new tree whips would be planted in Thriftwood over the next three years. This was being funded by a £35,000 grant from Network Rail. Support had already been given by business partners including Smart Motorways, Mars Chocolate and Husband and Wife Cleaning Company. This would exceed the pledge of 2,000 trees across the Royal Borough, and help support the achievement of the net zero carbon 2050 target recently adopted by full Council.  There was also a commitment to expand the tree stock in other parts of the borough.

 

Native trees supported many more species in the natural woodland and therefore the plans would support the council’s aim to increase biodiversity across the borough. The new trees would also enhance the existing tree stock, which contributed so positively to the borough’s look and feel. The borough was very fortunate that this would will help sustain the green and pleasant feel of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead for generations to come.  There was also an Adopt a Tree scheme on the borough website.

 

By way of a supplementary, Mr Wilson commented that not many people knew about the pledge to plant 2000 trees therefore he asked for something to be put on the website to explain and allow residents to suggest areas to be planted.

 

Councillor Rayner responded that she would be happy to take this up; the council positively welcomed suggestions for tree planting.