COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Thursday, June 23, 2016

MOTION NO. 2

MOTION: Councillor G. O'Connell

Cathaoirleach's Business

"That this Committee congratulates the Council in setting up two Tree Maintenance Crews and the progress that has been made in some areas, however it is equally concerning at the way in which the Tree Maintenance Programme is working out in practice especially as there are many trees in Estates in the Lucan Palmerstown Area that are healthy but totally out of place in a residential area. The trees in question are blocking out light from homes leaving residents open to depression and (driveways and gardens leading to moss and worse) are in some cases damaging the garden walls and/or lawns and produce the level of leaves in Autumn that (especially elderly and other) residents find impossible to deal with."

REPORT:

"The Council's Tree Management Policy 2015-2020 'Living With Trees' sets out the Council's policy in relation to the criteria for tree pruning and removal in general and in relation to specific issues. 

In line with the Policy, the focus of the 2016 Tree Maintenance Programme and future programmes is on entire roads or whole estates. This represents a move away from reactive pruning of individual trees on a one off basis to a planned programme of maintenance. The objective of this approach is to increase the efficiency and productivity of the tree maintenance crews and to advance a proactive programme of cyclical pruning that is targeted at priority locations where intervention is most needed to yield wider community benefit.  Having a planned approach also reduces the risk of tree failure and nuisance to residents, and will help to pre-empt complaints and meet the majority of customer requirements for tree works.

In this regard, the 2016 Tree Maintenance Programme for the Lucan/Palmerstown area represents a list of estates and roads that have been identified as priority for tree maintenance.  Priority is being given to estates and roads where there are significant clusters of individual trees that have been surveyed and a requirement for works has been identified.  In advance of tree works being undertaken within an estate or road that is included on the current programme, a full survey of every tree in the estate is carried out having regard in the first instance for the health and condition of the tree and taking account of issues relating to the trees location and surroundings.  This survey then informs the scheduling of a programme of tree pruning and removals as considered necessary for that estate or road.  It is important to note that not every tree within an estate or road requires maintenance.

Where requests for maintenance have been made to the Council in regard to specific issues, we are endeavouring wherever possible to undertake inspection of the tree in advance of issuing a response.  Occasionally, following inspection, the response to a tree-related customer enquiry is not in line with the customer's opinion and this is sometimes interpreted as lack of action by the Council. This particularly occurs where trees conflict with people and infrastructure which creates objectives and unwarranted pressures for trees to be pruned or felled. The Council recognises that trees under its ownership/management may be implicated in causing damage or obstruction to nearby built structures but is also aware that this is not always the case and that nearby trees often get blamed for damage before a thorough investigation is carried out. Some other reasons for structural failure are inadequate foundation design, general structural failure, poor quality construction, nearby excavations or major works to adjacent properties. Property owners will be expected to provide evidence that a particular tree is causing damage to the property and that all reasonable engineering alternatives have been explored before felling will be considered. Similarly, where trees are considered to be in conflict with infrastructure or the built environment on land in public ownership, the removal of healthy trees will only be considered as a last resort when the prevailing issue cannot be otherwise mitigated. 

With regard to leaf fall management, the loss of leaves from trees in the autumn is part of the natural cycle that cannot be avoided by pruning. The Council organises a street cleaning service which will sweep leaves from most streets and residential roads during the autumn period.  Residents Associations are encouraged to assist their elderly neighbours where there are temporary issues with leaves on private property in order to avoid the unwarranted removal of healthy street trees.

The Council’s role in street tree management is to try to achieve a balanced compromise, which is acceptable to the community at large but not necessarily to every individual within the community and to safeguard the tree population for the future, within available resources.  When carrying out tree inspections, the Council endeavours to balance the health and safety considerations of the tree itself with the amenity and other benefits of trees for the wider community."