Part of a message from Andy Robinson, Aboricultural Officer. LBE (Courtesy of Fox Lane Residents Association)

As you may be aware Enfield Council have for some time been putting together a project to reinstate the old double Elm tree Avenue at Broomfield Park that was lost to Dutch elm disease in the late 1970,s. A previous attempt has already been made some 35 years ago reinstating with double rows of Tilia cordata  ‘Greenspire’ (Small Leaf Lime) in place of Ulmus (elm) however this has been mostly unsuccessful due to vandalism and machinery damage that has resulted in a lot of the Lime trees dying or been removed, or they have developed into poor specimens and require removal.

A survey of this tree avenue (location identified by the green lines on the aerial photo above) has identified that we will need to Fell and remove stumps of 5 x existing poor specimens and remove stumps of 6 trees that were previously vandalised.

We are able to retain 19 of the existing Lime trees and supply and plant a further 50 new specimens  to provide a new full Avenue of Tilia cordata; this is a native species and we feel a suitable alternative to the Elm species that formed the original tree avenue.

Why are we not replacing with Elm ? We did consider this however it would require the removal of the remaining 19 good specimen Lime trees currently in site and replace the whole avenue with Elm species all at an additional cost due to the extra felling costs and the extra costs in supplying and planting a greater number of replacements.

Also and more worryingly there are concerns as to the survival potential of Elm trees within the UK. At present there are no 100% disease resistant Elm varieties available and therefore any new replacements would be in threat of developing Dutch Elm Disease and dying. Furthermore there is another species specific disease that has been identified in tree Nurseries in the Cambridgeshire area. This disease is known as Candidatus Phytoplasma ulmi (Elm yellows phytoplasma). This is a bacterial disease that kills the vessels within the trees system that provide the uptake and transport of water and nutrients around the trees system killing the tree.

We have received quotations for reinstatement of the tree avenue and are now at the stage whereby we can proceed and instruct our contractor to commence with the project.

After the avenue of trees is in place we will be providing protection from grass cutting machinery by installing a wooden rail fence surrounding each individual tree and a 3 year after care programme that will include watering to assist the trees surviving and establishing through to maturity.
Yours Sincerely

Andy Robinson – Senior Arboricultural Officer