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Tree management

We manage and maintain a large number of trees in North Herts towns. Hertfordshire County Council maintains trees in villages and rural areas.

Our tree maintenance strategy aims to:

  • Establish a tree population that has a wide age range and diverse species mix
  • Conduct maintenance and conservation work to trees when required
  • Improve the safety of trees, if necessary, so the public are safe when near them

Urgent and emergency tree works

We carry out urgent and emergency tree works, including out of hours work, in the following areas:

  • Council-owned land including parks and open amenity areas, cemeteries and car parks. Call during office hours 01462 474000, out of hours call 0300 777 4125.
  • Highway trees maintained by us in Letchworth Garden City, Baldock, Royston, Hitchin (including Ickleford) and Great Ashby. Call during office hours 9am to 5pm, 01462 474000, out of hours call 0300 123 4047.
  • For Hertfordshire County Council maintained trees that are in all other areas than those listed above call 0300 123 4047.

Highway tree maintenance

The management of highway trees is primarily concerned with maintaining public safety and with the provision of an amenity.

Trees located on North Herts highways and in and around towns, are inspected every three years to ensure that they are in a safe, healthy condition and that they do not block sight lines, traffic signals, streetlights or road signage for drivers. Tree specialists will prune or fell trees if required to ensure safety.

Tree pruning

Trees will be pruned for the following reasons:

  • Where part of a tree is dead, dying, damaged, diseased or dangerous
  • To remove or alleviate parts of a tree that are a nuisance or will cause potential damage to people or property
  • To remove obstructive branches or foliage for safety purposes and to improve the vision of CCTV cameras
  • To encourage the growth of a safe and balanced tree or to control its overall size
  • To remove or reduce the risk of existing or future damage. This may include entering private land, with the owner’s consent, to deal with roots originating from a Council maintained tree

If you identify a tree with any of the above issues, please contact our Customer Service Centre.

Issues with trees

Trees near buildings can cause issues including the shedding of leaves, seeds, fruit, petals and other debris, honeydew secreted by aphids, bird droppings, squirrel activity, shading of sun or daylight, obstruction of views, branches causing issues with telephone lines, interference with television and satellite entertainment and tree size.

We do not consider these issues as a high priority except in special circumstances, e.g. if a tree is interfering with an emergency call line for a disabled person. Requests to take action on tree issues will generally be given low priority status and only minimal action taken to avoid spoiling the appearance of the tree.

Attachments

Tree Strategy