Now you see it - Now you don't

This is Redland Green.

And the photo shows the Ash trees we've been trying to save, together with a Hawthorn that's seen better days, but is still important in the park.

We have watched this tree carefully over the last couple of years and it has to be said that it has been going through a rough patch - perhaps as a result of the construction of the cycle path next to it.  So we were wondering if it might do better next year.....

But on Tuesday, this tree was removed by Bristol City Council, quite unexpectedly.  No warning, no consultation, nothing.

Redland Green is no stranger to controversy and we have made the case that Bristol City Council should consult before taking decisions like this.  The urban forest is inhabited by people - like us.

We've felt for a long time that if the council consulted, it would then be in possession of all the information and therefore able to make better decisions.  Also, it would be a way of engaging the local community rather than simply ignoring us.  The council knows very well who to consult but it seems to ignore us utterly.  It thinks it knows best.  But we have successfully challenged, at an expert and technical level, its risk assessments and even had technical papers published in the Arboricultural Journal.  We think that the council doesn't always know best.

So we have sent this email to Bristol City Council (which thought the tree was dead - it is now):

FAO Richard Ennion, Bristol Parks Department


cc Bristol Tree Forum
cc Councillors Townsend and Harrison
cc RCAS
cc Redland Green Community Group


Dear Richard,


Earlier this week, probably Tuesday, an ancient hawthorn tree was removed on Redland Green without any warning or consultation.  It is likely to have been the oldest tree in the park.  As you may know this section of Redland Green is part of a former rural landscape which predates the mainly Victorian houses which surround it.


We will need to discuss how we can protect from BCC the remaining treees of this historic landscape at our next meeting of the Redland Green Community Group on Monday.


We had hoped that Bristol City Council might have learned the value of consulting with the local community before removing such trees, especially following the controversy regarding BCC's plan to chainsaw the ancient ash trees.  But it appears not.


Of course, post facto, it is possible to justify the removal of the tree.  And yes, we know the standard arguments that can be pulled out, which would apply to pretty much any tree over 50 years old.   But this approach is simply unacceptible as it does not allow the community to consider BCC's reasons for removing trees and decide whether we are  comfortable with them.  Nor does it allow us to obtain technical expert opnion to challenge the views of BCC as we did partially successfully with the ancient ash trees on Redland Green which BCC was determined to remove.


I personally find it hard to understand the reason for removing this live tree, whilst leaving a completely dead tree at the other end of the park.  It beats me.


For the moment, I guess all we can do is to get maximum publicity within our community and elsewhere to try and prevent the next episode of random destruction.


Yours faithfully,




Vassili Papastavrou


www.BristolStreetTrees.org

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 16

We've been banging on about Ginkgos for a while, and still have a couple of posts left to complete the story, here at www.ginkgostreettrees.org, in the fine city of Ginkgo.

Today, however we chronicle where we think it all started.

It could have been an X-Files, Scully and Mulder type invasion from another galaxy. Yes, we suspect Redland was impregnated with Ginkgos years ago, sowing the seeds for their current dominance as Bristol City Council's STREET TREE OF CHOICE.

We know these trees have been with us for years, but previously they were confined to parks, gardens, arboreta and institutional settings. It seems, however, that they escaped sometime in the 1970s into the urban realm.

Specifically into tree pits. In streets.

Like these in Carnarvon Road. Redland.

The first of many, these aliens have quietly positioned themselves in a Victorian suburb, seducing the inhabitants with their charm, to the extent that this road is now becoming the Ginkgo centre of western Europe. They are the Stepford Wives of Bristol's Street Trees, and new additions continue to appear...

But we have questions...

Do the denizens of Carnarvon Road dream about Ginkgos?

Is this invasion benign, or is there something sinister afoot?

Do Bristol City Council have a contingency plan to fight off these potential triffids?

Stay tuned...

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 15

Why is Bristol City now Ginkgo City?

We're not sure.

We think it might be because Ginkgos are a Highway Tree Officer's dream: slow growing, compact growth, generally fastigiate habit, and minimal leaf litter. Oh, and they are pretty disease resistant too.

We know this because here's one we planted earlier. In a garden in Redland. In 1986.  See how well it's grown over the last 24 years? Impressive, especially as it's not planted in a pavement, but into good garden soil. Give it another 300 years and it'll really contribute to the street scene.

There is a problem though.

Female Ginkgos may get a bit smelly after 35 years or so (especially their fruits), but they can't be sexed before then.

We waiting with baited breath for the new Ginkgo City fragrance in 35 years.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 14

Look. 

One of Bristol's famous stumps. In Winterstoke Road, South Bristol.

It's a Lime Tree stump, and there is more than one, because Winterstoke Road was an avenue of Lime Trees. There are a couple of London Planes, too, but they're in the open space by the play area.

We've been campaigning for years to have Bristol's stumps replaced with new trees, so it's good that these stumps have been. But we forgot about the law of unintended consequences...

Yes, Ginkgo City Council have re-planted with Ginkgos. In what was an avenue of Lime Trees.

Perfect. 

You can see just how well these Chinese deciduous conifers fit well with the established, remaining Lime trees. Especially in winter.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 13

Easton Way, Bristol.

Or at least the fairly recently re-vamped bit, where the Council removed a bit of road and installed a cycle lane. Which is good (as far as it goes).

Why are we here? Easton Way is a dual carriageway connecting the Parkway (M32) with Barton Hill Roundabout. But why, in Ginkgo Fortnight (maybe month, soon), is this important we hear you all cry?

It's interesting.

Easton Way has a central reservation filled with London Planes. They were planted as whips (very small trees) and have grown very well over the years to become a magnificent line of trees in the centre of - it has to be said - a rather ugly and inappropriate transport corridor in north east central Bristol.

The trouble with large trees is that they (so we are told by the Parks Department) need lots of space. So we'd expect the even wider 'island' created by the new bike path to accommodate some nice large trees.

But no. Sadly, the 'officers' in Bristol City Council saw fit to plant... A Line Of Ginkgos (and a Pine - nice).

Here at BristolStreetGinkgos we rejoice, not in the opportunities missed to protect ourselves and future generations from climate change by planting large trees, no, we rejoice in the planting of Ginkgos, in Ginkgo City.

Ginkgos are Chinese.

And most of what we already consume here in Bristol comes from China.

Ergo, Ginkgos are the future!!!

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 12

Here in Ginkgo City (formerly Bristol) we let visitors know what to expect, just as they enter the city... so just as you can pop into Gordano Services for a piss on your way somewhere else, you can also enter Bristol to check out the Ginkgos.

This is the Portway (A4).

Nice wide central reservation.

Nice long line of Ginkgos, courtesy Bristol City Council Parks Department.

Why is this of any interest? Well apparently Ginkgos are superbly suited to narrow streets, whereas London Planes get a bit big and can be difficult to manage.

So it's nice to see the good officers at the Council making intelligent decisions when deciding how to mark a Gateway to Bristol. Yes, this would be a great place for a line of London Planes.

But Bristol City Council knows better than that. Especially their unelected 'officers'.

Thanks guys.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 11

Kingsdown Parade is full of interesting inhabitants. Some of Bristol's famous movers and shakers.

They'll probably recognise this*:

When I do count the clock that tells the time,

And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;

When I behold the violet past prime,

And sable curls, all silver'd o'er with white;

When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,

Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,

And summer's green all girded up in sheaves,

Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard;

Then of thy beauty do I question make,

That thou among the wastes of time must go,

Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake,

And die as fast as they see others grow;

And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence

Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

So it's nice that they've been joined by a new Ginkgo which will take 300 years or so to achieve any real stature.

Thanks Bristol City Council. Very appropriate.

* Shakespeare - Sonnet No. 12.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 10

Ginkgo Madness Episode 10...

We like Ginkgos, we really do. We like all trees.

Ginkgos, however, do not a magnificent Street Tree make.

They take centuries to grow to a decent size, and they never match the stature of, say, a Lime, Beech or Plane. So we give our support to Ginkgos in gardens and parks. Big thumbs up (we're nice).

But they are useless as Street Trees unless the street is really small and narrow (we could name a few streets like this, but Bristol City Council have probably already replanted these with even smaller growing Amelanchiers and Cherries).

Today we feature the "magnificent" Ginkgos outside the City of Bristol College in St George's Road. Big new building, pathetic choice of tree (although they have been in a while, so they've grown. A little).

And it doesn't appear they're going to last... no bark on this one.

This tree will be dead soon - we wonder whether Bristol City Council will replace it.

What species they will choose? We hear Rhus is really fashionable.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 9

Let's think about development. A rare commodity in the current economic climate.

Back in Victorian days it was rife, so when Bristol Temple Meads Station was built in the 1800s the modern, forward thinking Victorians built a new street, straight through an old medieval part of Bristol to provide a direct route from Bristol Bridge to the railway station. A bit like the M32, only less smelly.

It's called Victoria Street.

This road has suffered since, of course, as WW2 and subsequent low quality development took their toll.

But look at the trees. London Planes. Probably planted in the 1970s, maybe earlier. And carefully protected during the recent building works to the new block on the corner of Victoria Street and Counterslip.

Now let's look at Counterslip, also the current scheme of carefully protected trees during the development of the old Courage Brewery site. What trees are these? Well, they are London Planes. Just like the ones in Victoria Street.

This is interesting because it suggests that someone, in the past, decided to define this part of the city and unify its street scheme by planting a single species of tree. One that's known to grow particularly well in Bristol. Probably a landscape architect, or a planner (urban design wasn't a recognised profession when these trees went in).

Anyway, back to Counterslip. The London Planes are on the left. But look, here on the right, what type of tree are these?

Well, they will be... Ginkgos. The trees that blend in anywhere because they are as useless as chocolate teapots in terms of civic scale and gravitas. These are the trees that now define Bristol. These are the trees that illustrate how unaccountable 'officers' of the Council can change the entire urban fabric of the city without even asking.

We think the London Planes in this area are quite nice. Apparently the parks department think they know better.

So there are also Ginkgos on the other corner too, in Temple Street.

Bristol City Council - Not Getting It - Episode 8

Yesterday we mentioned the insensitive and inappropriate replacement of a large Acacia tree with a meaningless Ginkgo in Canowie Road.

Here in Eugene Street, behind the BRI, and in true Bristol City Council fashion, they've done the same again. Look at this aerial view from 2003. A tree with a huge canopy.

Then, of course, Bristol City Council did this:

One more large street tree down, one more Ginkgo in the coffin of Bristol's existing and future generations.

Here at BristolStreetTrees we're all thick, so we don't count, but it would be useful if Bristol City Council could employ people with the correct qualifications when arbitrarily changing our streetscapes.