The sudden collapse of a large Beech tree across our heritage site last summer raises obvious concerns for trustees and parishioners alike. Why did this happen, could it happen again with another old tree along our riverside path and should we close it as a precaution? These are the main questions regular users of our amenity path have been asking.
First, a combination of bees and wood rot was the cause of this dramatic collapse. Bees had been making a hive for themselves high up in the decayed socket of an old branch stump. The extent of decay deep inside the trunk couldn’t be seen from the ground. A critical point came when the amount of live wood left in the top of trunk could no longer support the branch canopy above. This is when it sheared off at this weakened point in calm autumn weather with no wind. It was totally unexpected with potentially very serious consequences.
As a result, the Church Commissioner’s surveyors have now examined the condition of all their trees along our joint boundary and Chantry Lane.
All have been judged to be basically sound and reassuringly stable but some judicious lopping of overhanging branches from two lopsided old Sycamores along Chantry Lane is recommended and the remains of the trunk to be removed. At the moment planning consent is being sought for these alterations as every tree in a Conservation Area is protected by a preservation order. It is illegal under planning law to undertake work to them of any kind without first obtaining the city council’s written permission. This luxuriant band of mature trees is one of the great visual assets of Bishopthorpe and it is also absorbing carbon dioxide and other atmospheric pollutants (as all trees do) in the losing fight against global warming, and providing cleaner air to breath. But the work proposed here will make little difference and we have supported the granting of consent accordingly.
Based on the Commissioner’s tree survey we see little need to close our concessionary path as a precautionary measure but this is not our decision entirely.
Two last points; our four-legged maintenance crew of historic Ryland sheep, all ewes, seem to be a great favourite with parishioners anxious about their disappearance. They all survived unharmed and are safe in other quarters until their pen, our churchyard railings, has been repaired. These railings have now been dismantled by Acaster Forge and we hope to see them reinstated soon.
Footnote
April ’19 – the railings have now been repaired and re-fitted so the site is once again secure.