The Economy, Transport and Environment Scrutiny Committee reviewed the Council's trees and woodlands policy.
Aim of the review
The review board looked at our policy on managing trees on highways, treating Dutch elm disease and managing trees on school property. The review board looked at:
- the Council's policy on tree planting, care and felling on highways
- guidance or policy on managing existing trees
- Council and school responsibility for trees on school grounds
- the Council's legal and other obligations for managing the spread of Dutch elm disease and other tree diseases in East Sussex, how much this costs and whether this is supplemented by other organisations in the county.
Review board members
Recommendations
For full details of the findings and recommendations, you can download the board's final report below. They recommended that the Economy, Transport and Environment department:
- create a single policy for managing trees on highways
- make sure the process for reporting obscured road signs is clear to the public (publicise the online reporting system)
- publish details of landowners' responsibilities on the Council website and continue to work in parnership with parish councils on this issue
- make sure all schools, especially accademies, know how important it is for them to have tree inspections
- continue the strategic review of the Dutch elm disease management programme and report the findings to the Economy, Transport and Environment Scrutiny Committee.
Reporting
The final report was considered at the Economy, Transport and Environment Scrutiny Committee – 14 March 2012 (see item 8).
A progress report showing how the recommendations from the review have been put into action will be presented to the Economy, Transport and Environment Scrutiny Committee at a later date.
Enquiries
For further information, please contact the Scrutiny team.
East Sussex County Council