Effort underway to save Congleton trees

Congleton Town Council in conjunction with Ansa Environmental Services and Cheshire East Council are working in partnership to plan how they can join forces to preserve the lifespan of the many mature and established trees in Congleton. By sharing best practice and resources the group is determined to put in place preventative measures to avoid trees being felled in the future that could have been saved if action were taken early on.

Surveys and assessments of trees in all of Congleton’s parks have been conducted over recent months. The survey results will be used to determine strategies for replanting, successional planting and preservation of existing trees.

In response to one of the recommendations given to help protect existing trees, Ruth Burgess Streetscape Development Manager at Congleton Town Council said “We are looking at ways to reduce footfall around tree roots where possible to reduce compaction of the soil and damage to the roots. This could include fencing off, mulching, planting and signage.”

She reveals “A large beech tree near Congleton Park’s bowling green has been identified as showing early signs of decline. By adopting some or all the above-mentioned strategies, we can, more than likely, increase the lifespan of the tree. The tree is in a row of four, we will be looking at the whole group because as trees grow together in groups, they form an integrity that can be diminished if one of the trees is lost.

“In the first instance, I will be instructing the Streetscape team to stop mowing around the trees. We hope that a visual difference in mowing will encourage people to avoid the area but whilst we were there recently, we noticed how popular a route it is. Therefore, we will also be looking at bulb planting, wildflowers, fencing and signage options. We recognise that we will need to provide information to park users to explain what we are doing and why. We do feel that it really supports our aspirations for making the park more biodiverse and we would like to make it an exemplar site to start educating the public about strategies that Cheshire East will gradually be rolling out across the borough.”