Problem trees to come down in Kinlochleven

RESIDENTS in the Wades Road area of Kinlochleven could soon see an end to the long-running saga of problems caused by nearby trees on local authority land.

Councillors have now agreed to fund the £15,000plus costs of the clear felling of the conifers from the local authority’s environmental improvement budget.

Although a felling licence will still need to be granted by the Forestry Commission, Andrew Baxter, Fort William and Ardnamurchan councillor, is hopeful contractors will be able to start work soon.

‘This has been a long-run- ning problem for three or four years and involves a block of trees on the other side of the road from a group of houses,’ he said. ‘The conifers are quite densely packed together and were probably planted in the 1950s. As a result they are quite big now and it means they are blocking a lot of the light to these houses all year round.

‘Residents of the houses have also been concerned about possible damage to their properties, with the needledrop from the trees causing lots of issues with blocked up drains and gutters.’

Mr Baxter says it has taken a considerable time to finally get action approved to tackle the problem. He said: ‘It proves that persistence does pay off eventually and I am delighted this money has been approved and, although a licence will still need to be obtained from the Foresty Commission, hopefully these trees will now be felled fairly quickly.’

Mr Baxter says once the area of land is cleared of the trees, the ground will create a buffer zone along the river.

He added: ‘I would be keen to see the West Highland Way re-routed along the area to be cleared, as at the moment it just goes along the side of the road and this would be a more attractive option.’