Large diseased trees to be felled in Coalville Park

Published: Wed 17 January, 2024

Five large trees in Coalville Park – including some that have been there since the park first opened – are sadly being felled due to disease.

Tree specialists have advised North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) that four oak trees and one beech tree are diseased and are at risk of falling.

To make sure visitors to the park are kept safe, the trees will be felled over the coming weeks. This will also ensure the disease affecting the trees doesn’t spread to other healthy trees in the park.

The trees will be replaced with three oaks, a copper beech and a rowan in March this year, along with additional planting of fruit trees in the sensory garden and in the field at the rear the park.

The condition of the trees

• The beech tree is rotting internally
• One oak tree has Chicken of the Woods, which produces brown rot in the tree which can leave it susceptible to snapping as the tree can no longer bend. This tree also has a large cavity at the base
• One oak has substantial die back, is dead in the crown and has an area of decay at the base as well as a large cavity at the root plate
• One oak is prone to cleaving / splitting as a result of its genetics. In 2023 the top of this tree was removed following a split, but it has continued to decline
• The last oak has substantial dieback in the crown and is of poor form / habit.

Tree surveys 

As a landowner responsible for maintaining a large number of trees, we have qualified arborists and tree officers who work for us. They use QTRA assessments as standard.Teams working in the park have been monitoring the condition of these trees for a number of years, after visible signs of decay were noted.While work to some of the trees has been completed in previous years, including crown reduction, it is no longer safe for the trees to remain.You can

read our most recent tree inspection reports online.

If you read the report you will see that there are five low risk findings that relate to three trees (014, 015 and 017) in the list of 24 findings.The risk level is calculated by the size of limb / piece that could fall and from what height, the likelihood of it falling and what it’ll fall on people, cars etc.Number 014 Oak has a stem cavity at the root plate (where the trunk reaches the ground) this has been classed as low risk. This is because on its own a hole isn’t a threat to anyone or anything, it’s what it represents that matters. The presence of a cavity suggests that there’s probably decay of the heartwood running up into the stem. Heartwood rot will make the tree more susceptible to snapping as it becomes fragile due to the removal of the cellulose.Again, the same with the chicken in the woods fungus on its own is harmless but it what it represents is what matters as it’s also classed as a heartwood rot the tree will become susceptible to snapping (as above).

An independent bat assessment has also been completed and confirms there are no bats in the trees. A report will be published when it is available.

Removal of the trees once felled

The trees will be removed once felled to reduce the chance of the disease spreading to others in the park. We will assess the timber, and hopefully be able to salvage some for a future project.

New trees

To reduce the chance of damage to the newly-planted trees, tree guards will be installed around the trees and anti-vandal paint will be used. Extra CCTV will be installed in the park to provide greater coverage of the area.

Watch our Arborist speaking about the work to fell trees in Coalville Park.

Depending on the condition of the wood, the timber from the felled trees will be stored until a use can be found for them at a future date, with ideas including sculptures for the park.

Councillor Michael Wyatt, Portfolio Holder for Community Services at NWLDC, said: “It’s saddened everyone who manages our parks that these trees need to come down. In a formal park like Coalville Park large trees like these are a significant part of the space.

“We won’t know until the trees are felled what the condition of the wood is. Once the trees are down, the trunks will be assessed for their suitability to become part of a future project. We’ll store any suitable wood and will look into potentially using the timber for sculpture or another use that with bring something positive to the park or other spaces in the future.”