110,000 trees are cut down in just 3 years

MORE than 110,000 trees have been felled in three years as councils strive to save money.

Notoriously, Sheffield council’s £2billion tree-felling campaign has triggered furious protests as locals claim perfectly healthy trees are being chopped down.

Thousands of trees in the city, assessed by the contractor Amey as dying, diseased or dangerous, have been axed. However, figures show Sheffield is not the worst city when it comes to felling trees.

An investigation found the city has felled 3,529 – about 10 per cent of its street tree population – in three years. It is exceeded by Newcastle, where 8,414 trees have been felled, and Edinburgh, with 4,435.

In mixed urban and rural areas, the top tree- cutting councils are Wiltshire, with 4,778, Kent, with 3,623, and Basingstoke and Deane, with 3,579.

Experts and campaigners say some councils are trying to save money by chopping down large- canopy trees, often in urban settings, which can be expensive to maintain.

Trees such as oak, lime, sycamore, horse chestnut and ash are targets as their roots can spread along pavements and damage buildings and roads.

A total of 113,792 trees were felled by councils since 2015, according to figures obtained by The Sunday Times.

The number equates to about 67 hectares – more than 90 football pitches or a sixth Sherwood Forest. But the true number is likely to be far higher because many councils failed to respond to inquiries.

And 72 councils said they did not keep records of trees felled, despite it being a Government requirement. Some councils claim to have offset mature trees felled by replanting. However, experts say saplings cannot match the benefits of a mature-canopy tree.

Simon Richmond, of the Arboricultural Association trade body, said that in some areas trees were being lost because it is cheaper to fell than maintain them.

‘It takes up to 100 years for many broad-leaved trees to reach their full beneficial potential and the next 100 years to repay those benefits to its environment,’ he said.

‘ Respected research has shown trees have an impact on improved mental health, pollution reduction, physical health, flooding and temperature control. Property values are also known to be higher in more leafy residential areas. The benefits of trees are enormous.’

Mr Richmond said the problem was exacerbated by a cut in the number of tree officers employed by councils to maintain and champion tree stocks.

In Sheffield, as many as 17,500 – half of the city’s 36,000 trees – may be felled as part of the council’s 25- year ‘ Streets Ahead’ scheme to maintain roads and pavements.

Earlier this year two local Labour MPs called on the city’s Labour-run council to pause tree-felling, as protests grew.

Ten activists have been taken into custody since November 2017. Three people have been arrested on suspicion of assault, one on suspicions of a public order offence and one on suspicion of criminal damage. Four have been arrested on suspicion of obstructing the highway and another for witness intimidation.

Paul Selby, a tree campaigner, said: ‘Sheffield made it very obvious what they were doing, but tree felling can go largely unnoticed in a lot of cities. This can happen by stealth.’

Newcastle council claims to maintain a stock of 800,000 trees, including woodland outside the city, meaning it felled 1 per cent of its population.

‘It can happen by stealth’