31 October 2008, 08/246
Tree surgery branches out across the district
Tree doctors are now out in force to help keep West Lancashire
clean, green and safe.
West Lancashire District Council’s arboriculture workers are
currently out and about carrying out essential tree maintenance
work throughout the winter.
The works include pruning, thinning or felling and is carried
out when the trees are dormant in the colder months.
Residents can ring up throughout the year to ask for
Council-owned trees to be inspected and put on the list for action.
The Council will assess every single one in order to prioritise.
The four ‘D’s’ - dead, dangerous, deceased or dying - are used to
identify how urgently they need to be operated on.
This important work is vital to the nourishment of the
district’s greenery helping to keep the area tidy and safe. For
example, hot spot areas are targeted so that the areas are more
visible and are not enclosed by trees. This is turn increases
public safety and is a reassurance. Or footpaths are made more
easily accessible, which helps with other jobs such as grass
cutting.
The tree brash is chipped and then recycled in various ways.
Some of it stays on site to improve natural habitat, some is given
to allotment holders, and the Council’s countryside rangers
benefit, which helps with their environmental and conservation
works.
Cllr Paul Greenall, Portfolio Holder for Street Scene, said: "We
play a pivotal role in the conservation and enhancement of West
Lancashire’s trees and woodlands in order to maintain an attractive
environment in which to live and work. The tree maintenance
programme is a particularly important element of this work because
it is keeping the area clean, green and safe. Obviously we have to
prioritise all the requests but our tree surgeons always carry out
as much of the work as is possible within the timescale and any
work that is not carried out will go on the list for the next
programme."
In addition to the tree maintenance programme, the rangers carry
out similar work at the Council’s countryside sites. The Heritage
and Environment Team look after other issues, including Tree
Preservation Orders, regulate work to trees in conservation areas
and deal with protection, landscaping and promoting planting. For
more information about these services, please visit our tree pages.
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