Sizing up the veterans Monday, Oct 19 2009

When Alfred the Great was making a name for himself defeating Viking invaders in the late 800s, a yew tree was growing not far from Coates. That tree, having seen out dozens of subsequent monarchs, is still alive and reasonably well near the edge of Hailey Wood today.

This yew tree is one of many veteran trees being recorded on land owned by the Bathurst Estate by the volunteer Tree Warden network in the county. Two Tree Wardens (from Coates and Ampney Crucis) are covering the 600-acre Hailey Wood and the small areas of Estate-owned woodland within Coates Parish. The aim is to assist the Estate in compiling position maps, photographs and descriptions of the age, size and condition of this valuable heritage of ancient trees. When finished, the Estate plans to make the results available to the public to increase their awareness and enjoyment of the trees. This detailed ‘snapshot’ of veteran trees in 2007 will also help the Estate monitor and protect them well into the future. An important consideration is to look after trees in prominent positions, for example at the junctions and edges of woodland tracks or in fields and hedgerows where they are often especially visually attractive.

But how do you decide what is a veteran tree? This is a ‘no brainer’ for the Hailey Wood yew well over a thousand years old and with a girth of over 20feet. The giant beech in the woods behind the Tunnel House Inn, estimated at over 300 years old, is another obvious classic. Clearly it usually applies to reasonably large trees. In the survey we are using a minimum girth of around 9 feet as a guideline which, for and oak growing in woodland, means an age of about160 years plus. Other important characteristics are their potential for wildlife habitats such as cavities for bird life, bats and insects.

Future generations living in Coates who may be experiencing the effects of significant environmental changes may well find the record of trees in our lifetime a fascinating glimpse into village history. With this in mind I propose that a tree map of Coates Parish is prepared. Once complete a copy could be lodged with Gloucester Record Office. A large-scale Parish map is already available for the purpose with, as yet, only areas with Tree Preservation Orders marked on it so far. Which is the oldest tree in Coates? Who has an unusual fruit tree in their garden? Why were the two oaks on the corner of Dark Lane planted? If anyone would be interested in taking part in this project, please leave a comment.

Geoff Moore, voluntary Tree Warden

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Do trees matter in Coates? Monday, Oct 19 2009

The importance of trees in Coates was emphasised this year by some major additions to Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) in the Parish. These include official protection for two important woodland areas as well as protection for additional individual trees.

Trees in the Cotswold AONB (ie in Coates) do not have any automatic protection from felling or major tree surgery, as they do in the Cotswold Conservation Area. So the application of TPOs in Coates ensures that some of the mature trees that are particularly important to the landscape and environment are not completely vulnerable, for example to building development. This means that the CDC Tree Officer (currently Mathew Reid, based in the CDC offices in Cirencester) has the responsibility of granting prior permission for any work on trees with TPO status. The potential fines for felling TPO trees without consulting the Council first are draconian – up to £20k. However, fines of this size are rarely applied but it is best to be aware of the potential penalty. In my experience, CDC Tree Officers are usually very helpful about requests for justifiable work on TPO trees such as those with disease or unsafe overhanging branches.

The first of the newly protected woodland areas is the old quarry site on the Trewsbury Road near the entrance to the village from the South. There are beech, sycamores, willows and hawthorns growing happily in the depression created by the quarry. It creates a pleasant copse to mark what is probably the most used roadway entrance to the village. A small group of handsome beech trees near the quarry site has also been protected.

The other new TPO Woodland is the broad L –shaped band of trees bordering the Trewsbury Road (facing the Village Hall car park) and the edge of the field beyond. This is classic unspoilt woodland with a wide variety of trees including Douglas fir, cypress, sycamore, beech, horse chestnut, lime, yew, hawthorn and holly – with wild flowers beneath. It is perhaps a pity though that the high Cotswold stone wall on the roadside has become completely covered in ivy and overhanging branches. Should this wall be uncovered again before it collapses?

Planting new trees

Even protected trees still fail eventually so planting new trees is important to provide mature trees for future generations. The shortage of public space in Coates has limited the scope for the village to plant new trees. Around nine years ago, the Parish Council, with the help of grant money from the CDC, planted several new trees – three on the village green/playground, one near the old well, and two on the roadside verge near Home Piece. Four have survived, the best being the Field Maple on the green. Two were vandalised. More recently, a silver birch was planted in Dark Lane in memory of Albert Wheatley and, with much watering during dry summer periods, it seems to be developing well.

The CDC will shortly be holding a meeting for the voluntary tree wardens in the county to brief them on grants available for new community tree planting. If money is available, the village might like to start thinking about some new planting and in which areas.

Geoff Moore (voluntary tree warden for Coates)

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Bid for tree prizes Sunday, Oct 11 2009

The Coates entries proposed for the Cotswold Tree Competition described in Watershed earlier this year are given below. Winners will be announced later in the year with prizes of an undisclosed nature. Details of the competition are still on the village notice board.

Individual tree entries:
Big specimen: the giant Sequoia at Southfield House probably planted about 140 years ago.

Ancient history: the handsome 500 – year – old oak on the site of the abandoned mediaeval ‘plague’ village at Hullasey. It was probably growing while the village was still in use.*

Grand canal oak: the oak alongside the Tunnel House Inn is around 200 years old. It would certainly have been around when the bargees who first worked on the world-class canal of the time were quaffing local cider in front of the fireplace that we still enjoy today.*

Tree project entries:
Trees for future generations: the project for Coates to work with the Bathurst Estate to plant new trees to ‘replace’ the mature trees in the village for the benefit of future generations. The planting of trees to replace dead elms on a field border has been completed, and discussions on possible new planting in the Parish are planned to take place shortly. The idea of individual ‘sponsored’ trees to commemorate family events will be explored.

Celebrating trees: the ‘Tree of the Month’ items in Watershed aim to put the spotlight on individual trees in the Parish, and hopefully to inspire interest in trees. Part of the project is to build up information on trees in the Parish and compile a ‘tree map’ which will be offered to the Gloucestershire Record Office as a historical document.

* Subject to Lord Apsley’s agreement since they are on Estate land.

Geoff Moore (voluntary tree warden)

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