Fears over loss of trees to 'horrible' ash dieback in Northumberland

The county has around 183,000 ash trees that are at risk from Ash Dieback – a fungal infection spread by spores carried on the wind and is that is sweeping across the UK.

Officials at Northumberland County Council say the disease will kill 90-95 per cent of all the ash trees in the county, and have warned that the council “can only manage the impacts”.

The disease causes trees to become brittle, meaning they can fall without warning. Therefore trees near roads and in public spaces such parks will be cut down in order to protect the public – but the council has warned this process will take many years and come at a substantial cost.

Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting of the council’s communities and place scrutiny committee, service director for local services Paul Jones spoke of a bleak future for the trees.

He said: “Ash Dieback is a national concern. We are a big county, so clearly it is going to be a significant issue.

“It is one of these horrible diseases that is going to wipe out the majority of ash trees in the UK. We can’t stop it, it spreads in the air and it is about managing the impact rather than preventing it.

“It has a 90-95 per cent plus mortality rate on ash trees. The impact environmentally, financially and visually is significant.

“A lot of the trees are ‘landscape trees’. Mature ash trees are very big so fundamentally they’re a big landscape impact.”

A report presented to members said the spread of the disease “can’t be controlled” as spores are carried on the wind.  The council also faces a difficulty in identifying trees affected by the disease. The infection is only obvious in the latter stages when the tree is in leaf.

Ash trees are among the last trees to gain their leaves each year and the first to lose them, leaving just a small window to identify infected trees and to take action.

Explaining what action the council had been undertaking, Mr Jones continued: “Our tree teams have been out over the last two years looking at our parks and town centres as well as alongside the busier sections of our highways.

“We pinpoint the location of the trees, how many there are and what category of disease there is. It’s about categorising and managing risk.

“We are looking for proposals as to how the county council can tackle the issues. It is going to be a significant issue for us due to the sheer prevalence of ash trees – it’s going to have to be a multi-year programme on a risk-based approach.”

The council has said it will look to replant ash trees that have to be felled. Trees that can fall safely will be left in-situ where possible to act as a habitat for wildlife.

Coun Jeff Reid said: “It is really important that people understand the magnitude of this. It is going to be years before this is done.”