THE SLOW disappearance of oak trees in Lower Earley will lead to a loss in biodiversity, warned a resident.
The area, which was built from 1997 to 1988 in a mass development, was designed to keep existing oak trees in place.
But decades years later, many are being cut down from homeowners’ gardens.
The trees are not usually recommended for garden sizes typical in Lower Earley, with smaller varieties often used in housing developments now.
The result is that oak trees could be interfering with building foundations, and felled as a result.
William Luck said he is concerned the chopping of oaks could lead to a loss of biodiversity for the area.
The trees support around 2,300 wildlife species, with 326 species dependent on oaks for their survival.
“It impacts the wildlife, and they remove carbon from the atmosphere,” Mr Luck said.
Research has also shown trees in urban areas promote health and wellbeing, with people exercising more when they are around street trees.
Mr Luck said the trees also bring character to the neighbourhoods, and give Lower Earley a “sense of maturity”.
This has been shown to boost house prices in areas that have trees.
The Woodland Trust runs a street trees project, that helped 500 community groups in the UK celebrate and protect their street trees in 2019.
The trust believes that life is better with street trees.
“They’re a public asset and belong to all of us, so it’s up to us to make sure they’re recognised and valued,” the charity said.
It also works with local authorities to put in place policies that recognise the “true value” of trees in urban environments.
The charity said many healthy trees are “condemned to death” for nudging kerbstones out of place or obscuring views.
“Whatever the justifications, the maintenance cost for their care can be a real concern, and cash-strapped councils may be tempted to turn to quick, cheap fixes,” the charity said. “But it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Cllr Clive Jones, leader of Earley Town Council said many of the trees are several hundred years old.
“Earley Town Council is undertaking a survey of the trees that we have so we can get more and more protection,” he said. “That is being worked on by Cllr Tahir Maher, with the Wokingham Veteran Tree Association.”
Cllr Jones said they are securing Tree Protection orders (TPOs) for many trees, including some along Cutbush Lane.
He added: “[The Lib Dems] want to protect trees wherever we can and plant another 300,000 across the borough.”
