Tree felling plan to combat ash dieback

Every tree removed will be replaced with a minimum of five new trees, the council says

Work is under way to fell and replace a number of ash trees in Herefordshire as part of efforts to limit the harm caused by ash dieback disease.

Herefordshire Council said more than 6,500 hectares of broad-leaved woodland in the county contained ash. The tree species also makes up about 17% of the county's roadside trees.

The council said it would only fell infected trees that were in serious decline, those that posed an imminent danger to people or property, or where timber value was likely to be lost due to infection.

The authority added that every tree removed would be replaced with a minimum of five new, smaller trees.

Ash dieback was first officially recorded in the UK in 2012, the council said.

"The recovery of lost trees and woodlands due to ash dieback is very important to maintain the county's tree canopy cover," said the authority's cabinet member for environment, Elissa Swinglehurst.

"Tree planting and ash dieback recovery also form part of the developing nature recovery strategy, and Herefordshire tree and hedgerow strategy."

The authority said it had invested £8,000 into the Wye to the Wyre project, which would create a 60-mile corridor of enhanced tree cover across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

The corridor is designed to link pockets of ancient woodland, stretching from the Lower Wye Valley and Forest of Dean in the south, to the Wyre Forest in the north.