Friends will remember that last year in March 2018 the Haringey Tree Officer at the time visited the Churchyard in response to concerns raised by the Friends about the health of a number of trees in the Churchyard. There had been a number of ‘falling branch’ incidents over the previous 18 months and a tree survey was overdue – this was then scheduled for April 2018. Unfortunately the tree officer resigned before the survey could be undertaken and due to budget restraints the position was not refilled.
Fast forward to the summer of 2019 and in the late afternoon on the 18th July a large branch broke off the Ash tree on the High Street side of the Churchyard and fell on the path used by the children and parents accessing St Mary’s Infant School – fortunately no one was in the vicinity at the time. The council were informed and the debris promptly cleared the next day however the Friends took the opportunity to remind the council that the tree survey promised in 2018 had still not been performed and that this incident highlighted the potential safety hazards.
In response Haringey organised the tree survey and this was completed on the 25th July. During the following week the dead Hawthorn tree on the south side of the Churchyard fell down and was cut up and cleared by the Friends. A third incident occurred the following week when a branch fell onto part of the cycle/pedestrian path on the west side of the Churchyard during high winds and fortunately again, no one was injured. With the holiday season coming to an end the Friends will now press the council to provide a copy of the survey results and any plans to prune trees as a result.
