Eastbourne road to close for a week

An Eastbourne road will be closed for a week (from November 5) to remove diseased trees and make the road safe over the winter.
Butts LaneButts Lane
Butts Lane

Eastbourne Borough Council contractors will be taking down around 60 trees which have been infected by the fungal disease ash dieback in Butts Lane. Some of the trees have died as a result.

The council has been working with the Forestry Commission to identify the affected trees, including through the use of aerial footage.

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Councillor Jonathan Dow, Cabinet member for Place Services, said, “If a tree is in the latter stages of ash dieback it becomes structurally compromised due to secondary infections.

“Regrettably, we must undertake this work to ensure the risk of falling trees is significantly reduced, especially in bad weather over the winter.”

Ash dieback is a disease threatening to devastate Britain’s 80 million ash trees, caused by a fungus called Hymenoscyphus fraxineus.

Infected trees show dark lesions where the stem or branch joins the trunk and around the base of dead shoots, while the veins of leaves can turn brown or black and die.

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Nearly 2,700 trees have been planted in Eastbourne as part of a 10-year programme to ensure healthy trees for future generations.

The trees planted have been a wide variety of species, including Dutch Elm Disease resistant Elms, to combat future pest and diseases and to suit specific locations.

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