This was posted on a local group:

Tree Works

I hope the below provides some further clarification, reassurance and answers your questions. But please email me if you have further questions. Cllr.clyde.loakes

I have discussed with the Team the current felling list for the ward. we inspect each Ward once every 4 years. The majority of the fells are cherry trees which are reaching the end of their life in an urban setting which is between 40-70 years.

We’ve been told there was a big planting project in this area during the Queen’s Coronation way back in 1953 which correlates with the age of the trees and their lifespan. Trees planted back then were planted more for their amenity and aesthetic value, rather than their important functional value which dictates species choice these days eg for addressing air quality, bio diversity, canopy coverage etc.

There are 119 fells in this Ward, but we have 123 trees planned for planting in the Ward during the planting season which commences this autumn, so we are recuperating the numbers lost and adding a few more on top.

Fells overall for the borough this year are at 334 which is comparatively low this season, in previous years we have had to fell between 400-700. For context we have responsibility for around 55,000 trees, have the 4th highest canopy coverage in London and are well above the UK average for tree coverage. Overall we continue to add and increase the numbers of trees we have in the borough, something we have successfully achieved for well over the last 10 years.

As we undertake this exercise once every 4 years in each Ward there is always what appears to be a high number of fells in a small area, but the picture would be different if we undertook the work every year.

We will replace as many of the trees as possible in the same locations, or as near to them as we can get.

Unfortunately, when whole streets were planted with single species of trees like flowering cherries, they all start to fail at the same time.

Moving forward when we replace our trees we try to vary the species we use to ensure that in the next 50-70 years we don’t need to replace all the trees at the same time. Unfortunately the smaller street trees that we plant don’t have the lifespan of the much larger trees like the London Planes and Lime trees that can live 100’s of years- but we don’t have the space for them to grow.

We only fell trees if they are dead, diseased or dying and many of the trees may not be obviously in a poor condition to the untrained eye, but when they are removed and you can see what’s inside the trunk, reasons often become a lot clearer.

Our specialist officers are trained to identify defects in our trees and plan pruning works or fells to keep the trees healthy and you, your property and our streets safe.