Harry Beynon Posted December 5, 2013 Report Posted December 5, 2013 The academic arguments for urban trees are now well accepted but Hereford lags well behind other cities in this respect - High Town and Commercial Street each have only ONE tree!Ironically, when the OLM development opens it will feature dozens of trees.The OLM was sold to the Hereford public by promises of connectivity with the historic centre (and a cinema!) So, before Stanhope/McAlpine disappear, now is the time to insist the OLM planting scheme is extended beyond the new retail development and that a recognisable connection is created with the wider city. Anybody interested?
dippyhippy Posted December 5, 2013 Report Posted December 5, 2013 You can absolutely count on my support, what's the plan Harry?
Jim Kenyon Posted December 5, 2013 Report Posted December 5, 2013 Contact the hereford tree forum they may already have plans afoot I'm up for the right tree in the right place and would be happy to support any plans on that basis!!
Bill Thomas Posted December 5, 2013 Report Posted December 5, 2013 Fed up of hearing about tree's just a little, if they wanted connectivity with the historic centre then they should of planned an under cover foot bridge from the multi storey car park like CJ suggested, as it is, it is totally disjointed.
Glenda Powell Posted December 5, 2013 Report Posted December 5, 2013 Bill, not to discredit CJ suggestion, but both the Independents and I put forward that suggestion at council meeting back 12 months ago, the administration agreed then regade on that proposal. Unless you get something in writing, you don't stand a chance!
dippyhippy Posted December 5, 2013 Report Posted December 5, 2013 Trees Trees Trees! I love 'em, I can't get enough of 'em, and we definately need a whole lot more of them to stop Our City resembling a concrete jungle. There was a great little story about a family who are giving away a thousand trees to folk who wanted to plant one.....surely a smattering of these about the place would be a start? Wouldn't cost a bean, and would make the place look and feel a whole lot better.
Colin James Posted December 6, 2013 Report Posted December 6, 2013 Fed up of hearing about tree's just a little, if they wanted connectivity with the historic centre then they should of planned an under cover foot bridge from the multi storey car park like CJ suggested, as it is, it is totally disjointed. That's never going to Bill, the council do not have that much imagination. Tree's, I hear where you are coming from, personally I like tree's only problem I see is that they can plant lots of tree's which would be great BUT! They have to maintain them, so while they might look great for 3-5 years they do actually grow and will need trimming back from time to time, take a look along the Belmont Road as one example, especially just along past the roundabout, you cannot read some of the road signs they are that overgrown, so as long as they can do that and keep them looking neat I am all for extra tree's. While we are on the subject of tree's, I pointed out a tree on the left bank just past the Belmont Road iron bridge, CVP looked at these tree's a few years ago when I brought up the subject back then and gave them the thumbs up at the time but that tree looks very dangerous to me still and its roots have dislodged the wall too. One strong gust of wind or storm and it will be down.
megilleland Posted December 6, 2013 Report Posted December 6, 2013 For those that can't see the wood from the trees here are two cases supporting the role of the tree in our built environment. The case for trees in development and the built environment, and although American, Urban street trees - 22 benefits. Newton Farm is covered in trees and the better for it, The problem about looking after these trees is that like the grass cutting on our estates no one appears to know who is responsible for the trees with the agencies passing the buck back and forwards. As Colin says the council is unprepared to budget for their maintenance. The council have a blanket rule that they won't touch any tree even where it restricts the light reaching peoples' properties. I had loads of problems trying to get a tree pruned which was cutting out light and sunshine - the council refused to touch it. However the housing association sent some contractors to cut back their trees and inadvertently cut the council's trees in mistake including mine. Read the saga here and here. Here is Herefordshire Council's approach to trees in the county.
dippyhippy Posted December 6, 2013 Report Posted December 6, 2013 Some really informative links here, Megilleland! Thanks.
SON OF GRIDKNOCKER Posted December 7, 2013 Report Posted December 7, 2013 If you take yourself for a walk up in Churchill Gardens one fine day over the Christmas holiday (before this lovely urban green space goes under the hammer in the next council 'fire sale'!) you'll notice that all the many mature hardwoods up there have small engraved stone dedication plaques set into the turf near their bases. So if Stanhope / British Land plead poverty when asked where are all the trees which decorated the plans they submitted for planning permission in 2011, let's all offer to pay for a tree to be planted. I'd happily pay for a nice maple, so long as the plaque can read: "Grid Knocker's Maple."
dippyhippy Posted December 7, 2013 Report Posted December 7, 2013 Grid Knocker! We are so on the same wavelength on this! Dedicated Tress would be wonderful....to mark an event, to remember a loved one, or simply to say that you give a damn and want to improve what we have for everyone to enjoy!! I wish they would do this with the seating in High Town - those metal seats are dreadful!
ragwert Posted December 7, 2013 Report Posted December 7, 2013 Contact the hereford tree forum they may already have plans afoot I'm up for the right tree in the right place and would be happy to support any plans on that basis!! Agree,plant trees but the right species & in the right place.
Harry Beynon Posted December 9, 2013 Author Report Posted December 9, 2013 Thanks to all who have shown support for this initiative and in particular for the articles highlighting the academic case for urban trees. A growing (pun) number of people in Hereford are now behind this project and a meeting has been arranged with Stanhope/McAlpine in order to discuss the idea of extending the OLM planting scheme further into the city. The Hereford Tree Forum, The Woodland Trust, The Civic Society and Hereford in Bloom are all involved. Will keep you posted!
megilleland Posted January 4, 2014 Report Posted January 4, 2014 In The Guardian today: Ancient woodlands could be cut down under 'biodiversity offsetting' proposal Environment secretary Owen Paterson suggests 100 new trees should be planted for each ancient one destroyed. Musn't stand in the way of progress. Any trees left after the fracking starts will have to go. Makes the Edgar Street saga look like a bit of light pruning. Remember this is the government that wanted to sell off the nation's forests a few years ago. From Ancient Woodlands and Trees of Herefordshire - our heritage revealed Ancient woodlands are amongst the most enduring and biodiverse elements of the countryside and have protection under specific planning and forestry policies. Herefordshire contains a third of the documented ancient woodland in the West Midland region, although the county occupies only a sixth of the region. Nearly half of the county’s known ancient woodland was subject to plantation forestry last century, one of the highest proportions in England. A county inventory for Herefordshire’s ancient woodland sites of 2 hectares and larger was published in draft in 1984 but there has not been a systematic revision since then. In the intervening years there have been surveys of some individual woods and the recent Landscape Origins of the Wye Valley (LOWV) project carried out historical research into woodlands in the Wye valley between Fownhope and Ross-on-Wye.
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