Action being taken to remove diseased trees from Calderdale beauty spot

An ash tree that was felled in January this year, following a tree safety inspection. Copyright National Trust Images/Natalie Pownall.

The work on the trees at Hardcastle Crags has been revealed by Calderdale Council and the National Trust as they announced plans to host an online meeting to give people a chance to find out more about local woodlands and ask questions about how these are managed.

On Thursday September 23 from 6.30pm, representatives from the National Trust and Calderdale Council, as well as panellists from the Forestry Commission, the Woodland Trust and community groups, will attend the online Zoom session.

Topics covered will include tree disease and resilience, climate change, tree safety, thinning woodlands for natural flood management and the planting of new trees.

The meeting will also be an opportunity to find out more about upcoming woodland management work which is beginning shortly in some parts of Calderdale.

This will include the felling of ash trees at Hardcastle Crags, which are unfortunately needing to be removed to try and contain the spread of ash dieback.

There is also more positive news with thousands of new trees planned across the borough over the next ten years.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Resilience, Councillor Scott Patient, said: “We’re extremely lucky in Calderdale to have such plentiful and varied woodland.

"This is a great opportunity to find out more about the work that goes in to managing these areas and to increase our understanding of the kind of trees we have in Calderdale and how they can provide residence for our ecosystems now and in the future.

“There will be a wealth of knowledge in this virtual meeting and the panel is on hand to answer any questions you may have. It should be a really interesting and informative event designed to help us understand the occasional complexities of woodland management.”

Anyone is welcome to join via Zoom and find out more about Calderdale’s woodland environments and ask any questions they may have about the management of these areas.

National Trust countryside manager, Rosie Holdsworth, said; “We know people in Calderdale are passionate about woodlands. Trees are a really important tool in the fight against climate change, but our woodlands need to be well managed. We want to give people the chance to ask questions and find out more about why sometimes trees have to be felled.”

The meeting will take place on Zoom on Thursday 23 September at 6.30pm.

To join the meeting, please visit https://zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID: 935 3884 4697 (direct link to meeting at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z-bzYv69QIWIM2Jtt4KDsw)