The tree at the bottom of Como Road has been cut down this morning. I don’t know why, it wasn’t dead, but it might be because it’s trunk was in such a bad state after some bastards set fire to a scooter under it a few years ago. The tree survived, albeit with very little bark on it’s trunk, and now a human has decided it was a hindrance or too risky to let live and has had it cut down and pulverised in a shredder.
I am inordinately upset.
I would recommend contacting https://www.streettreesforliving.org/
With their help a replacement can be put in place and you can help choose a nice tree for that location.
Although they say that there is a cost associated, sometimes there is money from ward assemblies (particularly in Perry Vale) for street trees, so it is worth bringing their attention to the site that needs a new tree.
I spoke to the guys who removed one on Loxton this morning - they said that in that case, the tree had been surveyed and while it looked like it was thriving, it had a fungal infection and was unstable. Maybe the Como one was the same.
Obv the council is under a lot of financial pressure, but it’s a shame that they’re not automatically replacing mature trees and that a charity has to step in.
It had also lost a branch last year after a skip lorry drove through it, but apart from having lost some bark due to the moped fire you mention, it looked fine to me. It was one hell of a fire it survived too:
I’m also sad it’s gone and might try and enquire as to what the reason / excuse was for it’s removal. It leaves that end of Como a bit bare 
Thanks everyone.
Fungal infection might be likely as I think there was white stuff growing on the trunk.
I know about Street Trees for Living (I helped with the survey last year). I don’t know if it’s possible to plant a new tree close to the root system of another tree.
I’ll try to find out why the tree was removed, in case it was a reason other than tree health, eg tree roots penetrating cabling.
Do they need to remove the trees in order to lay the new fibre cables?
Could it be for car charging cable too?
Seems crazy if is for cables that they can’t just go further back on pavement. So many years of growing plus they help with air pollution. Shame they’ve totally gone bar the stump.
I think there is some evidence new, younger trees can absorb more carbon so if they are replaced it might not be as environmentally bad as at it looks at first. Ideally though I’d agree leave them there unelss there is a good reason for them to come down.
I can’t see any evidence of digging around these trees - now stumps - for utility trenches, chargers or otherwise so I don’t think it is that, in these cases anyway.
That said, on second inspection, the stump on Como looks like this:
The lower side is where the fire was that had stripped the bark. I’m not sure if that being so dry and cracked is evidence that it was already dead, or the wet ‘top’ side is evidence of infection eating away at the tree. Maybe someone that knows about trees could tell something more?
However, the felled tree will release all the carbon it’s ever stored as it rots or burns.
I’m always under the impression the tree Surgeons game is a bit of a racket.
Council: “excuse me could you look after our trees?”
Tree surgeon: “Yeah sure…this one’s sick”
Council: “oh no what shall we do to make it better?”
Tree surgeon: “let just look on the van…Uhm I’ve only seem to have the means of hacking it to pieces…”
Council: “no little tree first aid kit under the passenger seat?”
Tree surgeon: “I have another machine that will make those hacked up pieces even smaller”
It’s sort of pathetic, a lot of the issues link back to uneven pavements and the culture of taking the council to court if people fall down go bump. There’s a real lack of understanding, would be great if they trained these chainsaw welding clowns to level a paving slab rather than removing the whole dam tree…but they made a vocational oath.
You wouldn’t ask a butcher to look after a sick pet…
