Ash dieback is a disease affecting ash trees in our countryside and towns. It threatens to wipe out over 90% of Britain’s native ash species and is likely to cause safety issues that need to be managed by landowners in high-risk areas. Over the next 5 years, ash trees near highways will need to be felled if they are considered to be dangerous. If you have an ash tree on your property, read this information on the Devon Ash Dieback website before doing anything. Some ash trees will survive the disease and could be an important resource for future re-planting, so it is important not to fell a tree simply because it is showing signs of dieback. Within Teignbridge, about 85,000 ash trees are within potential falling distance of a highway and 90% of these are the responsibility of the farmer or other landowner.
Devon County Council, in association with Devon Wildlife Trust, is encouraging communities to plant a diverse range of trees now which will replace those we are going to lose in coming years. There is more information on Replacing Trees here. It is hoped that from November 2020, there will once again be free trees made available to communities to enable large scale planting to take place, and we are also being strongly encouraged to find areas where natural regeneration can take place. Trees that plant and grow themselves tend to survive and thrive best of all!
Further information on all aspects of ash dieback can be found on the Devon Ash Dieback website.