Farewell to the weeping beech trees at Lodge Gates
You may have noticed there are two large trees at the edge of the arboretum that overhang the A433 road heading towards Tetbury.
These are weeping beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Pendula') that stand at the end of Jackson Avenue on either side of the Lodge Gates, opposite the main entrance to Westonbirt School. We do not have a record of the year they were planted, but it is noted in the Jackson Catalogue of Westonbirt Trees and Shrubs that they were young trees back in 1927, and "making good growth" at about 25 foot in height.
As they grew bigger and at some point more recently, both trees were given additional support by way of a cable brace system attached to larger specimens to the rear. All cable braces require annual inspection, and renewal if needed, as part of our Tree Safety Management programme, as well the fact that they are in Zone 1 (high usage area) with a potential high 'target' value (road users could get hurt).
We do not like to compromise the shape and form of trees unnecessarily, but due to their size and close proximity to a busy road, the trees were pruned back from the highway in October 2002, and again in March 2004, with the appropriate temporary traffic management systems in place. Unfortunately, here we have a case of the right trees in the wrong place, but thankfully tree work of this nature is very rare at Westonbirt because we usually have the space required to grow wonderful specimens as nature intended.
We have now had cause to carry out a thorough visual tree assessment, as sadly tree number 02-0123 lost a large branch at the end of June, which snapped and fell across the A433 without any sign of warning. I am pleased to report that no-one was hurt or property damaged. The tree management team have concluded for a number of reasons, that these trees will have to be felled soon, although this decision has mainly been taken because the structural integrity of the damaged tree has been compromised. As they were very much planted as a pair in the landscape, the undamaged tree will also need to be felled.
Whilst unnecessary removal or disfigurement should always be avoided, it is fair to say that no tree is entirely safe and so decisions must be based on recognisable hazards. Legally we have a ‘duty of care’ to people who enter our land or the vicinity, and in the case of trees, vicinity includes the potential falling range of boundary trees. Where a tree is hazardous because of decay or structural weakness and shows external signs of being in such a condition, the occupier of the land on which it stands is normally liable under UK law for any personal injury of other damage it causes by breaking or falling.
There are other considerations, such as a degree of root damage, the ongoing need for regular crown reduction and thinning, the weight of the canopy and angle at which the trees lean over the road, and of course the likelihood of further branches falling from either tree.
We do not plan to replace these trees immediately, to make sure we avoid similar problems in the future.
The work will result in the temporary closure of the road to allow operations to take place safely, and so we apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.
