Stevenage Borough Council have replied to my email about that tree I blogged about last week. (Read it here.) I’d hoped there was a good reason for its removal; turns out there was.
- Was this tree subject of a TPO? (I note it is not listed on the website here as having a post-1999 TPO, but the page does stage older TPOs are not listed.)
No the tree was not subject to a TPO
- What was the reason for its removal?
This Elm tree was dead in its entirety.
- What investigations were made (tree surgeon report etc) into alternative courses of action such as pollarding?
The tree has been monitored over the last two years. Last year, with the exception of very few leaves, the tree was virtually dead. The council had then no option but to look into the removal of the tree. This year (2014) there were no leaves on the tree at all. When the tree was removed on 31 August 2014, the operatives noted the advanced degree of rot and decay within the tree’s crown and trunk. If the tree had been allowed to stay, it would have posed a great risk to highway users and residents.
A website called Trevor 
I walked past that tree at least once, sometimes twice each week and must admit I didn’t notice it was dead. But there again, sometimes things are so familiar they don’t register as having changed. That’s a great idea of yours to record historical events on the rings!