Council to take five weeks to clear trees after storm

REMOVING trees damaged in the first storm of the season two weeks ago will take about three more weeks.

A number of trees were felled in Cardiff during the storm which hit overnight on September 12 and the council has warned it is still getting reports of damage.

One tree fell onto a block of flats in Llanedeyrn and another hit a shed in a garden in Llanishen.

A council spokesman said that the authority had been called to 300 incidents due to the storm and 270 had been dealt with. There are 30 incidents outstanding.

Felled trees in Llanishen Fach Park and Hailey Park are yet to be removed.

The spokesman said that as those trees are not blocking access or a danger to the public, they are a “low priority” and will be removed within three weeks.

One Llanishen resident said a tree branch crashed into her shed which had caused substantial damage.

In the end, it was her insurance company that removed the tree.

In Llanedeyrn, a tree near the flats at Brynfedw fell, causing the building to split and a large branch landed on the roof.

Ward councillor Emma Sandrey raised concerns about the priority of incidents dealt with.

She said: “While we do obviously appreciate the circumstances around the post storm operation and the hard work put in by all teams within the council to resolve all of the issues, we were shocked that the tree branch in Brynfedw was left in what looked like a precarious position.

“No doubt it was made safe but residents approached me afterwards, shocked and confused as to what was happening.

“There were particular concerns around the area not being cordoned off, running the risk that might try and play around it.

“Given the fright that residents had in the night, and the uncertainty around how it might have impacted the building both internally and externally, we expected this incident to have been given higher priority.

“As it is, residents had to wait more than 24 hours before it was seen to”.

Cabinet member Peter Bradbury said: “Storm Aileen caused in excess of 300 tree relating incidents across Cardiff on September 12.

“Every incident was classed as urgent, medium or low priority which was determined by our obligation to secure public safety. The council is continuing to receive calls from the public.

“The 52 incidents classed as urgent included trees in danger of imminent collapse, those resting on properties, blocking roads or on cars.

“The team did an excellent job working around the clock in very bad conditions to carry out this work and all of these cases were made safe within 24 hours.

“The roads affected by the storm were reopened by 2pm the following day.”

He said that the tree which hit the flats was removed when it was safe.

“It wouldn’t have been safe both in terms of the light and the weather conditions to do the remedial works on the night of the storm,” he said.

“The council made it clear from the outset that it will take a number of weeks to remove the trees that were made safe and to carry out the necessary subsequent inspections.

“The trees in Llanishen Fach Park and Hailey Park are lying on the ground and are not blocking access and do not pose any danger to the public.

“These are rated as a low priority and will be removed within three weeks.

“The council would like to thank all staff for their continued efforts in carrying out this work”. children