Dr Tim King conducted a survey today (September 30) and writes:
In the light of the length of the Willow Walk bridge, (41 metres overall) fewer trees should be condemned, because the marked trees extend for 50 m beyond the new bridge in the North Hinksey direction and 30 m in the other direction.
On Willow Walk, there are 17 marked large trees on the northern side. There is one of the southern side, plus another old tree (marked 110 C) which should have been marked and might have been at one time. Those furthest from the bridge should be saveable.
However, I was struck by the number of extra trees which are within the length of the new bridge (41 m) but have not been blobbed. On the north side, there are three ash, two sycamores and six hawthorns. On the south side, there are two willows, three sycamores and five hawthorns, making a total of 18 trees which will undoubtedly be for the chop. This ‘group’ of trees thus has 37 members and probably more. For I did not look at the unmarked trees in the extra 60m length of blobbed large trees along Willow Walk; some of them will undoubtedly go.
Then I looked at the trees alongside the Seacourt Stream from the southern Willow Walk end of the channel up to the pylon. There were 56 blobbed willow trees and willow stems. But there were also 37 unblobbed willow trees and an extra 48 stems of considerable girth emerging from below breast height from a basal trunk (=85 altogether). There were 4 unblobbed hawthorn, I ash, 2 so far unidentified and 24 large Poplar (aspens) in an attractive group towards the pylon. That makes 116 unmarked altogether. I don’t know how many trees are north of the pylon. Somewhere I have read that all the trees on the Botley Nature park are at risk.
That means that in those two groups of trees (the Willow Walk area I censused is only part of a group) there are 74 blobbed trees and 134 unblobbed trees, 208 altogether!
The EA says that there are 57 groups of trees. I am certain that the EA’s estimate is a gross underestimate. But:
(1) According to the City Council tree officer a tree is more than 5m tall and a diameter at breast height of more that 7.5 cm.
(2) Many willows have several trunks, each exceeding this girth, and occasionally, it is arbitrary whether to call trunks emerging from the ground close together one tree or two
(3) Many trees not in the path of the channel will be destroyed to provide ‘access to machinery’. Developers always ask for the moon, expecting that damage will be reduced as a result of protests. Network Rail (and Carillion) destroy everything possible. The EA will employ ignorant sub-contractors. By insisting that the work is supervised by someone with ecological expertise we could halve the damage.