From: BBC News, 06/10/22
Lovely to read recently about a council initiating a two-year project to plant more than 500 trees by March 2023 in urban areas of Great Yarmouth, as part of the Forgotten Places: Greening Coastal Towns and Cities initiative.
Choosing the right trees in the right space is important if, like Great Yarmouth Council, you want your trees to thrive, and avoid obvious – and not so obvious – hazards.
Great Yarmouth Council rejected planting fruit trees in a public place amid fears that windfalls could be “used as missiles”. Work on the Queen’s Green Canopy along Great Yarmouth’s South Quay will not feature apple, plum or pear trees, the borough council decided. A total of 92 “standard” trees will now be planted along the quay between November and March 2023.
The issue was raised at Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s environment committee, which discussed the constraints involved in planting trees in the area. They had received advice that fallen fruit could be “used as missiles”. Research had been undertaken into soil types “due to ongoing issues with tree survival rates in this area”, it was told.
Labour councillor Marlene Fairhead questioned the suitability of fruit trees along South Quay, saying “they cause a bit of a hazard”.
“The fruit drops off, nobody claims it, it gets slippery, and also children pick it up and chuck it at each other,” she told the BBC. “It’s a health and safety issue really. You get elderly people walking along the pavements.
“They assured us they will not plant them along the kerbsides.”
For advice and information about choosing the right trees for your space, or a quote for tree work, contact Andrew
E: Andrew@primarytreesurgeons.co.uk P: 01256 817369 or M: 07771 883061
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