'Brutal and appalling' pruning upsets residents

Severe tree-pruning in a London borough seems "brutal and unnecessary" and has deprived them of the trees' natural beauty, residents have said.

Waltham Forest Council cut leaves and branches off many trees in the area to control their growth and preserve their health - but some people said the streets are now lined with "bare stumps".

Others are upset they have lost the shade the trees provided and said pruning should be done in the colder months.

The council said the trees were cut back by expert contractors every four years.

Pruning

Most trees can be pruned at any time of the year, but drought and exposure to the heat can slow regrowth and put the tree at risk of disease or death.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society, the best time to prune or pollard (cut the top off) trees is during their dormant season – typically late winter.

The Arboricultural Association said work undertaken in the spring might lead to the tree becoming vulnerable to pest and disease attack.

Work carried out in the autumn runs the risk the tree will not be able to get all the nutrients it needs for the next spring.

Leyton resident Melissa Nisbett told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the pruning meant direct hot sunlight was streaming into houses and there was no shade at bus stops.

"The community should have access to shade and have somewhere to stand waiting for a bus or sit under in a park.

"(Pruning) during a heatwave is inexplicable. It's pretty appalling."

She was also concerned the procedure would harm the trees.

Fellow resident Emma Woodcock said she did not have a problem with the pruning itself, but that she thought it was done at the wrong time of year.

Ms Woodcock said during the summer, birds and insects relied on shrubbery for both shade and food.

"It just feels really brutal and unnecessary. Looking at a tree gives me a sense of joy.

"Looking at a stumpy old branch is fine in winter."

Victoria Dove, a local allotment keeper, said leaving the trees "bald" "negates all the hard work we as citizens put in".

The council's pruning operation complies with the Countryside and Wildlife Act 1981.

Checks were carried out to ensure trees where birds were nesting were not pruned.

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