Herefordshire tree-felling will close road for weeks

The tree felling will take place alongside the A49 which is situated next to the Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum

Large-scale tree-felling by Herefordshire Wildlife Trust will close a main road for three weeks.

Work along the A49 at Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum will be done to cut ash trees diseased with dieback.

Traffic management is due to start on 17 October until 11 November and will include some lane closures and traffic lights.

Esther Clarke, from the trust, said the felling would allow woodland to "regenerate naturally".

"The removal of the trees will temporarily allow more light on to the woodland floor which will encourage a flush of woodland flowers and shrubby undergrowth over the next few years," Ms Clarke, reserves team manager, said.

She added this would be "ideal habitat" for birds, butterflies and small mammals, such as dormice.

"Gradually the healthy trees will grow back and new saplings will germinate and replace the diseased ash trees," she said.

Ash is the most dominant species of tree in Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum

Many other trees will have to be felled to make way for safe targeting of the diseased ash trees, which are the most dominant species in the woodland.

Herefordshire Wildlife Trust said dieback is caused by the fungal disease Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, also known as 'chalara', and is affecting woodlands across the UK and has already caused widespread damage in continental Europe.

Signs of dieback:

• Dead branches

• blackening of leaves and discoloured stems

• Trees may drop limbs, collapse or fall as the tree rots from the inside.

Source: Herefordshire Wildlife Trust

The Trust said a number of oak trees growing on the edge of a steep and unstable slope on the south eastern end of the wood, beside the A49, would also be felled.

Drivers can expect traffic management in place from 09:30 to 15:30 BST on week days.

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