NCC have begun an extensive felling of the characteristic lime trees which line Lenton's avenues.

A letter from NCC recently made it's way through our door informing us of what appears to be fairly extensive clearing of the lime trees in Lenton. The justification for this, we are told, is that some residents have complained about aphid mess, falling branches and loss of daylight. The council held a meeting about this on 25th June (unfortunately I was unable to attend). In any case, I gather that this was merely a PR exercise and not consultation as the decision had already been made. The council's letters and statements make this whole scheme sound reasonable and well considered but personally I have serious misgivings and objections to the plan.

The lime trees define the character of lenton and do much to make it a pleasant place. It's a real joy to live amongst these great mature trees, which are in a constant state of change and create a different streetscape for each season. In summer, Lenton appears to be more forest than residential area, with houses being completely obscured from afar. Presently, the trees create a fantastic cathedral-like effect, enclosing the long straight avenues in leafy vaults, casting dappled shade and a calm green ambience over the streets. Alas, the soothing sounds of leafy boughs rocking gently in the wind and birds singing from the branches are soon to be replaced by the howl of winds funnelling down empty suburban streets; the seasonal greens, yellows, oranges and browns to be succeeded by the ubiquitous grey of the English sky.

There are some less-obvious benefits that the trees bring. They create habitats for wildlife (not just aphids) playing a role in the biodiversity of the area. The trees help in some capacity to deal with excessive surface-run-off during sudden down-pours, intercepting and soaking-up rain water (particularly important of late). They also provide seasonal shading and cooling through evapotranspiration and reduce the urban heat island effect. At a time when we are increasingly concerned about climate change and how to adapt to a hotter, wetter climate, does cutting back on this natural mechanism for resilience really make good sense? I could go on about the benefit of these trees but I feel that the photos really say it all.

I don't recall being consulted on these proposals. The problems cited could have been addressed through a more moderate strategy, such as pruning as and where obscuring of light is a real problem, and maintaining the trees regularly to ensure that precarious branches are dealt with. I do not feel the case for this mass felling has been made.

The existing trees have taken a around a century to reach their current stature, and if left to their own devices will continue to play their part in Lenton's urban environment for decades and perhaps centuries to come. The hour grows late, the chainsaws have already arrived and the fate of Lenton's Limes appears to be more-or-less sealed. Assuming the new replacement trees are actually forthcoming, survive their infancy and are sufficiently resistant to vandalism, it will still be decades before these pleasant leafy avenues are restored to their present glory. Indeed, most of us will not live to see that day. The thought that all this is happening in order to appease a handful of people who don't like cleaning aphid crap off of their cars is a little upsetting to say the least.

Links:
http://www.government-online.net/tree-works-nottingham/
http://www.dunkirkandlenton.co.uk/News/News/Major_tree_work_starts_in_Lenton_.html