Warwick School addresses concerns about tree felling

Warwick School has addressed concerns over trees being felled during half term.

The Courier was contacted by a resident after they spotted people on the Banbury Road site around the trees during the first week of the Easter Holidays.

The resident said: "It is shocking the school are felling these trees on the corner by the mini roundabout.

"They shouldn't have the right.

"With climate change they should be teaching that trees are precious - everyone in Warwick loves those trees.

"They have no right to destroy our green corner - they should not be felled willy-nilly and it's a bad ethos for the school.

"When you start picking out one or two you can destablise the rest of the trees."

The school have now issued a statement about the trees.

A spokesperson from Warwick School said: "Under the Health Safety at Work Act of 1974 we are required to undertake regular tree surveys/reports to ensure we are managing our trees responsibly, and the associated risks.

"The schools last site wide tree survey/report was undertaken in 2019.

"In regards to the Myton and Banbury Road: The pine trees (corsican and scots pine) along the Myton Road and Banbury Road were shown to be exhibiting signs of dieback, with the likely cause being red band needle blight (dothistroma septosporum) with a recommendation for a phased felling program as unfortunately this disease is not confined to just one area.

"There are various trees along this stretch of area that have tree protection orders, which required permission from Warwick District Council/Forestry Commission before felling works could take place.

"An application to the Forestry Commission was submitted in 2020 providing this information with further site visits from Warwick District Council and the Forestry Commission also taking place.

"In October 2020 the Forestry Commission granted a felling license to start the phased felling of the affected trees in this zone, and this license was granted for five years.

"We will shortly be looking at a what conditions of the phased felling require replanting along the Myton Road corner, on the Banbury Road the current understory trees (non-pine trees) are being supressed by the pine trees and it is expected that these trees will further mature once felling has been completed.

"In regards the previous Headmaster's garden: All works have taken place in line with the recommendations of our most recent tree survey/report, no further permissions were required for these works and these formed part of our rolling programme."