Send a message to the council asking for more time and information before they act

Our first objective is to make sure the council knows how many people are concerned and interested when it comes to the trees in Whalley Range.

Councillors' contact details are included on our main web page.

It would be really helpful if you could send a letter or email to one or more of your local councillors requesting further engagement. You could even visit the councillors at their local surgeries (see news updates for details). If every individual who has concerns takes a few moments to let the council know, we can realistically hope to gain at least a temporary stay of execution on the trees so that we can then work together on a more collaborative basis.

Following a fairly spontaneous visit to inspect some trees on Range Road and Dudley Road recently, we have some well-informed points that are being put to the council (see the main group web site for the December document).
We need to keep this moving as the Council are expecting dialogue soon and to be felling again in January.

I would like to suggest that those who are concerned should now contact the council and others making some or all of these points:
- advance planting now is easily possible in many locations, it doesn't have to wait until after any felling
- the need to put in about 4 trees for every one removed to keep up the canopy and meet the climate mitigation targets set out in the City Council Plan.
- make the case that healthy trees should not be removed because of pavement works, that can be done easily e.g. on Deeping Ave and Russell Rd (opp Spire Hosp)
- some trees have been removed and not replaced (same location and elsewhere)
- it was agreed that areas should not have large numbers of trees removed, this is the case on Range and Dudley Road
- street trees should not be removed in areas where non-street trees are also diseased and dying, e.g. in the grounds of the Spire Hospital
- several trees that have been identified for removal in future years could be removed now, as they are in rapid decline (it's important to prioritise correctly or else urgent fellings will be added to the toll and a larger total number will have to be felled than was necessary by any given date).
- trees that have a good canopy and little dead wood should not be removed until they are in more accelerated decline.

I would like to suggest that people continue to
1) sign and promote the petition
2) contact your MP
3) contact your councillors and ask for their response and support
4) contact Richard Shirland, Head of Environmental Strategy about our concern about the present strategy
5) contact other people such as the leader of the council and Neil Swannick, Environmental Services to raise objections to the strategy.

Councillors' contact details are on the http://wrtrees.tripod.com page. Other contact details on here would be useful.

WR Resident

p.s. the council are currently about to fell 6 mature trees on one street in Didsbury village using the same strategy as part of their tree management plan.

Contact details for Gerald Kaufman
taken from http://www.parliamentaryrecord.com

Address as:
Rt Hon Sir Gerald Kaufman MP

Westminster Address:
Gerald Kaufman MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

Tel: 020 7219 5145
Fax: 020 7219 6825

Personal Email: cootesn@parliament.uk

Constituency Office:
30 Sopwith Drive
Fallowfield
Manchester
Greater Manchester
M14 7FE

Constituency Office Tel: 0161 248 0073
Constituency Office Fax: 0161 248 0073

Contact Details for Richard Sharland
from http://www.manchester.gov.uk

Richard Sharland
Head of Environmental Strategy
Manchester City Council
Town Hall
Albert Square
MANCHESTER
M60 2LA

Telephone:
0161 234 3232

E-mails: (which works best, I don't know - try them and post the results...)
richard.sharland@manchester.gov.uk
r.sharland@manchester.gov.uk
sharland@manchester.gov.uk


Past posts from http://uk.linkedin.com:
Chief Operating Officer at Groundwork UK
Executve Director at Groundwork St Helens, Knowsley & Sefton
Director at Lancashire Wildlife Trust
Director at Derby Community Arts

Contact details for the Leader of the Council
taken from http://www.manchester.gov.uk

Councillor Richard Leese
Town Hall
MANCHESTER
M60 2LA

0161 234 4761

email:
r.leese@manchester.gov.uk

Town Hall contact number:
0161 234 3004

Contact details for Councillor Neil Swannick
taken from manchester.gov.uk

Bradford ward

Labour Party
11 Delamere Street
MANCHESTER
M11 1JY

0161 274 7001

cllr.n.swannick@manchester.gov.uk

Town Hall contact number: 0161 234 3235

Contact details for other executive members of the Council
taken from manchester.gov.uk

Executive Member for the Environment
Councillor Nigel Murphy
0161 274 7009
cllr.n.murphy@manchester.gov.uk
Town Hall contact number: 0161 234 3345

Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services
Councillor Paul Andrews
0161 274 7009
cllr.p.andrews@manchester.gov.uk
Town Hall contact number: 0161 234 3235

Contact details - Steve Leaf and David Hughes

David Hughes
Public Open Spaces Manager (a senior line manager)
d.hughes1@manchester.gov.uk
POSTAL ADDRESS:
Manchester City Council, P.O. Box 585
Manchester, M60 3NZ
LOCATION ADDRESS:
Number One First Street, Level 1 Manchester M15 4FN
Tel: 0161 234 4321

Steve Leaf
Green Space Manager (...not sure about this title)
s.leaf@manchester.gov.uk

In all the exchanges of information between the council and the WR tree group, there hasn't been a clear indication from the council of why felling really has to take place now, this year, this month?

If the Executive Members for the Environment wanted to convince us of the need to act now in the interests of the future tree-scape or future amenity or future air-quality of Whalley Range, I think they'd find us all ears. But all we've heard so far is that the plan must go ahead. Our suggestions to bring forward planting or increase planting, or extend the streets where planting should take place have all been met with a complete silence.

So we're still mystified as to why felling has to happen now... especially since the trees indicated for this month are not classified as diseased or dying.

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