MEMBERS of a Wokingham church are coming to grips with the necessary loss of a second veteran tree from their churchyard.
The unwelcome news comes just seven months after St Paul’s Parish Church had to make the difficult decision to take down another of its mature trees.
Before Christmas, one of its oaks growing close to Reading Road dropped a large branch.
On inspection it was revealed to be widely diseased, dangerous and in need of major work.
The church values all its trees, and regularly carries out all necessary checks to maintain them, so its members were saddened by the news.
Arboriculturalists made the oak safe during the Christmas holidays, closing the road while they lopped off all the tree’s limbs, leaving just a large portion of the trunk.
It has since produced lots of new green growth, and looks likely to enjoy a further stretch of life.
But now another mature tree in the same churchyard, this time a cedar of Lebanon, has been declared unsafe.
David Ruddock, church warden at St Paul’s said: “It is extraordinary that we are having to do this within a few months of needing to prune the oak.
“The cedar, which is thought to be over 120 years old, has been in a poor condition for the last few years.
“Bracing works were carried out in 2014 in an attempt to extend its life, but earlier this year it was noticed that a split in the stem appeared to be widening, so we asked a tree consultant to inspect it and report on its condition.
“He was in no doubt that the tree is unsafe and should be removed.
“The area around it is in constant use, and he was concerned that should it fall, the main target areas would be the church itself, as well as surrounding foot paths and headstones.”
“Sadly there is no realistic possibility of extending the tree’s life any further,” said Mr Ruddock.
“As a church we have tried to keep it for as long as possible, and we will all be very sad to lose it.
“But the truth is that it is coming to the end of its life and it is no longer safe, so has to go.”
Work to take it down will require use of a heavy crane and, as before, Reading Road will be closed to traffic to allow the contractors to operate safely.
It will cost in the region of £13,000.
“We are very grateful to The Wokingham Society, who have offered us a generous grant of £5,000 towards the cost of removing the cedar, on the condition that a replacement tree is planted – which we are determined to do,” said Mr Ruddock.
Work is scheduled during the school holidays in order to cause the minimum of disruption, and will take place on Thursday, August 22, and for part of Friday, August 23.
Reading Road will be closed on both days to traffic between Holt Lane and Station Approach, with pedestrians able to pass on the Holt Lane side of the road only.
For more information about the church, visit: www.spauls.co.uk
