I am, I must admit, no fan of wasps; personally speaking I would exterminate all wasps on sight.
Anyhoo, that minor genocidal tendency apart, I was somewhat ungemused to see that Nanny's chums from Islington Council decreed that a 25 year old 30ft pear tree (valued at £10K) had to be cut down.
For why?
On the the grounds of health and safety.
What health and safety issue was that then?
One resident complained that it attracted insects!
Councillor Richard Greening defended the treeocide, as per the Telegraph:
"The residents live there and if they say they have seen wasps there is no reason to doubt them.On that basis all shrubs, flowers and trees must be exterminated by Islington Council, if its residents are to lead risk free lives.
The risk is so high for people with allergies that on this occasion it was worth going against tree officers."
Councils are the enemies of the people, trees and wasps!
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Wasps actually do a lot of good in the garden, eating many pests.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking personally, I'd much rather have the wasps than Nanny and her jobsworths!
Apart from the exorbitant waste of money, especially in the present economic climate, and the wanton destruction of a beautiful tree, it does seem strange to me that with concerns over pollution, partly caused by too much Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, that local authorities should wish to chop down trees, as deciduous ones absorb that gas and breathe out oxygen. In any case, chopping down that tree is not going to make the slightest difference to the local wasp population. In fact, if the tree in question was home to a colony of wasps, chopping the tree down will make matters worse for local people as the insects will seek a new home, possibly in someones house, or at least in the brickwork of a residential building. In such a situation, the owner or tenant of the property will be forced to call in a pest exterminator, possibly from the council, who will charge them for his services.
I suspect this story is more about saving money rather than caring for those with allergies.
ReplyDeleteHere's my thinking:
A large fruit tree needs regular maintainance, therefore a cost or liability to Nanny: cut the tree down, liability gone.
Local Nanny is getting rid of her publically owned open spaces here in Wokingham and many people can't see why.....I tell anyone that will listen that, developments bring revenue to Nanny in the for of council tax and business rates whereas, a park or open space requires money spent on it to maintain it.
We all want open spaces but Nanny is in charge and she just wants cash....Kerching!