More trees removed due to Ash Dieback near Hendy

Carmarthenshire Council say work is continuing throughout the county to remove diseased ash trees on council land – with the latest felled overnight adjacent to the A4138 Hendy link road.

Specialist contractors worked through the night to remove the dead or dying trees, which were causing a hazard to motorists and pedestrians according to the council.

Ash dieback is a fungal disease, it spreads from the leaves through to the branches, causing the tree to die. Dead branches and entire dead trees can become very brittle and fall, posing a serious risk to the public.

Now the council are reminding landowners with diseased trees it is their legal responsibility to make sure their trees do not pose an unacceptable risk to people and property.

They also warn that landowners also need to adhere to the law to avoid harming birds their eggs and nests when undertaking any work.

Where private trees are deemed an “imminent threat” and landowners have already been contacted by the authority, they are now being served with a Legal Notice to remove the trees.

The council say that failure to comply with the notice will lead to the authority removing the risk and charging the tree owner for the work.

The authority added that it has a legal duty under the Highways Act to keep roads safe for users and ash dieback is a serious issue for both the council and landowners.

They also stressed that this is a dangerous and specialised job and the council have employed qualified and experienced tree surgeons to complete this work.

Carmarthenshire County Council Director for Environment, Ainsley Williams, said: “Unfortunately we have had to start serving legal notices on landowners who have failed to remove these diseased trees.

“We have a legal duty under the Highways Act to keep our roads safe for users and ash dieback is a serious issue for both the council and landowners.

“Landowners should also ensure that they comply with the provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in respect of the avoidance of harm to birds their eggs and nests when planning to remove them.”

Carmarthenshire County Council is also pushing forward with its tree planting program to help mitigate against some of the losses.

Recently 120 trees have been planted at the Parc Dewi Sant site in Carmarthen with plans to plant more later this year.

Preparations for tree planting are also underway at other large sites in the county.

(Lead image: Creative Commons / M J Richardson)