Agenda item

The Board is asked to consider information provided on tree management across the BCP area, making recommendations as appropriate and agreeing any further action for scrutiny.  This follows a request for scrutiny that was made by a Councillor and subsequently agreed by the Board for inclusion on its Forward Plan. 

The Chairman introduced the report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member of the Board and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these minutes in the Minute Book. The Chairman advised that this report was being received in response to a request from a Councillor. The report included questions previously submitted by Board members and their responses. The Board was asked to consider whether there were any issues it wished to take forward. The Portfolio Holder advised the Board that there was a Green Infrastructure Strategy coming forward and was currently being consulted on. There were currently three existing policies for the three areas of the conurbation. The Council was also looking at a Tree planting policy and a number of trees had been planted over the last year. A number of issues were raised by the Board including:

·       A Board Member suggested that it would be useful for the Board to get involved in the developmental stage of the Green Infrastructure Strategy and the potential policies. This would be more beneficial than seeing the final strategies immediately in advance of the Cabinet decision.

·       There were a number of trees being taken down in various locations around the borough and these trees were not necessarily always being replaced and where they were replaced it was with trees which would take a long time to reach the same maturity as the trees taken down. Thus having a significant impact in carbon sequestration for the BCP area. It was important to reach out to the public regarding the best ways to manage trees and encourage public awareness of the issue and to look after existing trees. It was noted that there was a challenge in terms of the public versus the private realm

·       A Board member asked about the Tree management mechanisms currently in place in Planning, including enforcement of Tree Preservation Orders and How these were developed.

·       In response to a query regarding the number of trees planted it was confirmed that all trees under the urban tree challenge fund – approximately 6000 have been planted. Some were still waiting to be planted and these would need to wait for the next planting season.

·       Board members discussed the possibility of a working group to look into the issues further and consider the public engagement on these issues including the development of the tree strategy Green Infrastructure Strategy.

·       There should be more information available on how to get trees protected as preventing the removal of safe trees was better than having to put new trees up.  The trees which had been planted were not ‘full’ trees and more mature trees were needed as well.

·       Residents lives were being blighted because the Council was not taking action on trees which were reportedly unsafe. He impact of this needed to be considered in any future tree strategy. The COuncil needed to look after some if the older trees better.

·       There was a lot of miniformation about TPOs and that work could be done on them with permissionto prune.

·       There needed to be consistency with regards to deicsions taken on TPOs and members questioned what oversight there was when decisions were being taken

The Portfolio Hodler advised that the green infrastructure strategy was still in its early stages. An update would be coming in early August and there would be a member presentation on the issue. After this was complete then the Council would be looking at tree strategies.

The Chairman concluded that it was clear from the debate that there was an appetite amongst the Board members for carrying forward some of the issues raised which could be incorporated into the policy which officers were working on, particularly with responses to residents requests in relation to tree issues and how this service would be provided to our residents. The Chairman therefore proposed that at some point it would be useful to set up a working group to look further at these issues.