The Maple tree (Acer campestris), that stands on the green space at the back of the Hall car park, was intentionally damaged some time in the week beginning 28th October 2025. Many people in the village have expressed their shock and concern, and we appreciate this very much.
The tree was due to be trimmed this winter, as it is carrying quite a lot of weight in the upper branches, and some dead wood. Ironically, this damage has delayed this work, as we have to wait to see how the tree fares. The tree was deemed safe last year, and the arborist who looked at it last week agrees that he has no worries about it – it’s extremely unlikely to fall, and is extremely likely to survive the new injury.
The damage looks like an attempt to girdle or ring-bark the tree, which would kill it if done thoroughly. However, the damage is in fact fairly superficial and very incomplete, and the tree will heal its own bark.
The arborist’s advice:
- Yes, the tree needs trimming by about a third, and pruning of dead and crossing wood. This could be done this winter, however –
- There is a small chance that the tree will not recover well from the attack, so it is best to wait until we see how it looks when the leaves break in the Spring. If it does not recover well we will have wasted a lot of money having the trim done this year, if more work is needed subsequently.
- Once we have seen how well the tree is doing, we can plan to have the trim done in autumn 2026 – it is best to wait until the leaves have done their full summer job of collecting energy for the tree.
At the Hall Committee Meeting on 6th November it was decided to follow the advice in point 3, and wait till next year. The quote for the work was £620+VAT, although we would of course get other quotes nearer the time. This would be a lot of money to spend on spec.
The tree has a long “scar” down the far side away from the car park, which I also asked about, as this might have been causing concern. The arborist advised that it was probably an old lightning strike, and that it was possible to see from the rounded edges of the bark that the tree was healing this well and it was not a problem for the tree’s future life. Acer campestris is a hardy, tough native tree.
We have placed moss on the new wounds, and held it on with plastic wrap. This is according to RHS advice. Wound paint was also an option, but use of wound paint on trees is not common now and considered unnecessary.
The Legal Issue
I appreciate that people have been very angry about this damage, but it is not, unfortunately, classed as a criminal offence. The tree has no protection order (TPO) and is not within a conservation zone, so it only counts as a civil matter. We also have no way of knowing who caused the damage. I am reporting the damage to the Community Warden as an example of anti-social behaviour.
Other work
The arborist also looked at our Checker Tree (Sorbus torminalis) at the front of the Hall, which he much admired. It too needs some pruning work, which we will arrange in due course.
Thank you to everyone for their concern.
Rosalind Riley, Chair of Trustees.