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ABSTRACT
Bristol has undertaken to develop a tree strategy at the same time that the UK government has appointed a tree champion to bolster planting rates and grow green spaces, with a particular role of preventing unnecessary felling of street trees and requiring proper consultation with local communities. Bristol has also renewed a commitment to double its tree canopy cover to 30% by 2050. This paper uses the case study of Bristol and its Tree Forum to make the case for the inclusion of community engagement as part of the tree strategy. At present, the community is not usually consulted over the felling of trees on public land, resulting in risks being considered without the benefits taken into consideration, or alternative management options. In addition, there is often no consultation with the Tree Forum regarding the removal of trees for other schemes. This paper advocates a legal obligation to properly consult before trees are cut down, and proposes mechanisms whereby this may be accomplished. In addition, it proposes proper consultation before key strategic decisions are taken.
Acknowledgments
I should like to thank the two reviewers for their comments. I should like to thank fellow committee members of the Bristol Tree Forum for their advice and critical review of earlier drafts, particularly Mark Ashdown and John Tarlton. Sue James of the Trees and Design Action Group reviewed the manuscript and has provided advice over the years and various useful pointers that helped me understand what is happening at a national level. Michele Lavelle and Bill Ambridge clarified many technical issues and Clive Stevens was instrumental in getting the Bristol Tree Forum up and running and was behind many of its key successes. Neville Fay invited me to speak at the 2008 Trees and Risk conference with the title, “Are trees safe in the hands of the experts” and his company Treeworks Environmental Practice advised us on the Redland Green trees. It was at that conference that I learned about bottom loop bias and the role of community groups in addressing it. A draft of this paper was sent to BCC and discussed with a BCC Tree Officer at a Bristol Tree Forum Committee meeting: all comments received were incorporated. Over the years, we have worked with many council officers in Bristol. I thank those who were prepared to debate issues with us and in particular those who worked hard to save individual trees and improve the attitude towards urban trees within Bristol.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
4. See Section 4.
6. There is some confusion over this goal as Mayor Marvin Rees has been quoted as aiming to double the number of trees. https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-mayor-marvin-rees-annual-1800974 The 30% goal is listed in: Our Future: A vision for an Environmentally Sustainable Bristol, published by Bristol Green Capital and available on http://bristolgreencapital.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/BGCP_Our-Future_2019-2.pdf.
9. See P20 onwards of https://www.bristol.gov.uk/documents/20182/34520/SPD%20Final%20Doc%20Dec2012.pdf/daf75908-50fd-4138-afed-770310a6a431.
10. https://bristoltrees.space/Tree/. Reversal of plans in 2017 to slash the highways street tree maintenance budget by 78% through extensive media, community awareness and lobbying initiatives far beyond the remit of BCC tree officers (McEwan, Citation2017).
11. This would be the approach for managing other council assets such as vehicles, where if a vehicle is scrapped or sold, it then has to be replaced.
12. Information on trees planted taken from Tree Bristol https://www.bristol.gov.uk/en_US/museums-parks-sports-culture/treebristol-planting-trees-in-bristol.
13. Information that urban trees mitigate the effects of climate change by reducing urban temperatures by up to 4°, is now widely reported in the media.
15. 22 April 2008: pp. 1, 22.
17. This convention comes under the aegis of The Council of Europe, not the EU and so will be unaffected by Brexit.
18. Despite the ratification of the convention by the UK, local councils appear to be doing little, if anything, to implement it.
19. Written answer on 26 April 2007 by Minister of State (Housing and Planning), Department for Communities and Local Government [133,407].
20. The Aarhus Convention was ratified by the UK on 23 February 2005. As it was also ratified by the EU by means of a regulation, it does not need to be transposed into national law.
21. R v North & East Devon Health Authority, ex parte Coughlan [2001] QB 213, [2000] 3 All ER 850, 97 LGR 703.
22. R (on the application of Greenpeace Ltd) v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry [2007] EWHC 311.
23. Pers. comm. Bristol Parks Department, Bristol City Council, 17 April 2007.
24. The National Tree Safety Group is a broad partnership of organisations that have come together to develop nationally recognised guidance on tree safety management that is proportionate to the actual risk from trees.
25. Health and Safety Executive.
26. Notice to Redland Green park users from Bristol City Council, 14 December 2007.
29. The importance to wildlife can result from the very things that are perceived as “problems” such as cavities and holes, dead wood and the organisms such as fungi that thrive on it. In addition, many features of “old” trees contribute to their aesthetic value.
30. The conflict regarding evolution versus creationism is such an example.
31. This word is used in the legal sense.
32. There are numerous examples of trees which provide important historical or cultural links, such as the Royal Oak tree within which Charles II hid to escape the roundheads. However, local landmark trees have a value as a landscape feature or in the memories of local people.
33. The definition of “defect” is taken from Rotherham, I., 2014. A–Z of tree terms: a companion to British arboriculture.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Vassili Papastavrou
Vassili Papastavrou is a whale biologist and conservationist. He is particularly interested in our relationships with whales and other large and long-lived organisms such as trees. He lobbied for the establishment of the Bristol Tree Forum in 2008 to try and address the problem of lack of consultation regarding urban trees and stop the loss of big trees in Bristol.