Green Zone Update

 

TREE-MENDOUS!

 

As your landlord, Muir is responsible for 2,500 of trees in the communities in which you live. We are very fortunate to have a rich and diverse tree stock which provides numerous environmental benefits, as well as health and wellbeing; aesthetic and economic ones.

 

Trees moderate the effects of the sun and provide shade, create buffers for strong winds and reduce the effects of heavy rain, helping to prevent the risk of heavy flooding in the process. They also offer shelter and food for a lot of local wildlife.

 

As well as the many environmental benefits, trees also bring a lot of social value to your area. They give your neighbourhood a sense of place and community - the green environment encourages people to live in your area.

 

Muir receives lots of requests from residents each year to remove or prune trees due to loss of light, TV signal interference, and seasonal nuisances such as dripping sap, bird droppings and fallen leaves and fruit. 

 

Whilst we are sympathetic to these issues, Muir will only remove trees if it is absolutely necessary. That’s why we have developed a new Tree Policy which is based on the premise of supporting a green environment and the nature of local communities.

 

We initially need to survey all of our tree stock (this is a BIG job!) and complete a risk assessment of each tree. This will allow us to find out which trees require priority works and to workout the timescales in which tree works should be carried out.  This approach aims to deal with tree issues before they become problematic and dangerous. 

                                     

Ultimately this approach will lead to a more sustainable tree stock and will help us make decisions that recognise the value of our trees, as well as providing the best value for money for our residents.

 

 

Warrington Pilot

 

Before rolling this approach out to all our tree stock we thought we would test it out in a particularly problematic area, Warrington.  Some 1390 trees were identified and mapped across our schemes in Warrington, the majority of which are aged between 20 and 40 years old.  183 trees were identified as needing pruning or removing in the next 12 months, representing 13% of the Warrington tree stock.  We are currently asking contractors to tender for this work, and we will be notifying residents that are going to be affected by the works. 

 

Further details regarding our Tree Policy will be published shortly