Trees hit by 'notable increase' in ash dieback

Ash dieback kills leaves and causes lesions on the tree's trunk

Up to one hundred trees on a historic estate could be felled after a "notable increase" in ash dieback disease.

Most of them are in woodland, around Ormesby Hall in Middlesbrough, an area popular with walkers.

The Nation Trust, which manages the estate, said they potentially posed a risk to the public should they become too weak and collapse.

The disease is a fungus which infects ash trees, attacking leaves and branches, causing lesions, and eventually leading to their death.

Mark Bradley, countryside manager with the National Trust, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that managing ash dieback was an "increasing focus".

He said regular surveys were taking place to assess the spread and severity of the disease on National Trust land.

He said: "It is a serious disease that has been spreading across Europe and parts of North America including, unfortunately, in our local area."

The woodland forms part of the Ormesby Hall estate

Most of those affected on the estate had been planted in Pennyman's Woods in the 1980s.

However, some older trees running along the nearby roadside, were probably more than 200 years old but would also have to come down.

Mr Bradley said: "For trees that are too damaged or too risky to keep since they may fall, it is important to remove them, and also to reduce the risk of the disease spreading to other trees."

A planning application has been sent to Redcar and Cleveland Council because the trees are in a conservation area.

If permission is granted, work will begin in January.

Planting will then take place in the felled areas of native broad leaf species, which "will give an uneven age structure and include species which will grow to canopy and scrub layers", Mr Bradley added.

"This will give a more diverse age and species rich woodland, with some open glades that allow for improved ground cover."