More than 600 outstanding works orders on Mid Sussex trees: backlog labelled ‘bewildering’ by former tree officer

A Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) request by the Middy revealed there were 626 outstanding works orders to 503 trees.

The figures were sent to us on November 2 by Mid Sussex District Council, who said the outstanding tree works represent just 0.72 per cent of its stock.

But Rudi Walters, who was MSDC’s tree officer until this summer, said: “The amount of work was bewildering, it was just unachievable.”

Rudi, 52, from Tunbridge Wells, became tree officer in July 2022 and said he discovered the backlog three months into his role after auditing the system himself.

He said: “I thought ‘this is just bonkers, we’ve got so much work we can’t possibly keep up with it’.”

The FoIA request revealed there are 677 outstanding ‘items’ across the outstanding works orders. It also revealed: in 2019 there was one work order outstanding; in 2020 there were six work orders outstanding; and in 2021 there were 12 work orders outstanding. The number of outstanding works orders shot up to 240 in 2022 and 367 in 2023.

Rudi said the backlog ‘makes a mockery’ out of the council’s tree policy. For example, he said someone being allowed to trim a tree overhanging their garden could be dangerous if the tree had not been properly inspected for years.

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Rudi said the backlog could have happened because multiple surveyors survey without ‘a script’ from the council. He said they may report ‘absolutely everything’ and said small things that should be ‘comments’ are recorded as ‘recommendations’. He said the system should be audited more frequently with a ‘handover’ period from a former tree officer to the new one. He added that Ash Dieback would have increased works orders too.

Rudi also expressed concern about the way ‘items’ could be vastly different, saying one could be about removing a newly planted tree while another could be about felling all ash trees in a compartment of woodland.

MSDC responded: “We are responsible for more than 70,000 trees. The outstanding works orders are representative of 0.72 per cent of our stock with fewer than 100 of those identified as priority works. These works include things like clear felling of dead or diseased trees, and removal of damaged limbs. Our arborists are required to deal with these within 12 weeks. The tree management software we use gives us a comprehensive overview of our tree stock and includes logging re-inspections that are recommended to complete at a future date. The majority of the works on the system are non-urgent re-inspections due to take place throughout 2024 and our arborists will be working to complete these inspections within the required timeframes.”

The council said its tree management policy is ‘robust’. The council continued: “Our Ash Dieback Management Plan has begun and, due to the nature of the situation, is continuously being refined and we are working with the Forestry Commission to ensure we are doing what we can to support biodiversity across our ecosystems.”

The council said it takes managing tree stock seriously, adding: “We work with qualified arborists, surveyors and inspectors to ensure all areas are safe for our communities while doing our best to preserve our environment for generations to come.”