A disease predicted to infect more than 30,000 Derbyshire trees could cost the county council up to £40 million over the next 20 years.
Derbyshire County Council estimates it will need to spend between £22.5 million and £40.5 million to fell and replace trees affected by the ash dieback fungal infection between now and 2043.
In a meeting of Cabinet, member for infrastructure and environment Councilllor Carolyn Renwick said: “We have a severe problem with ash dieback in Derbyshire.”
She admitted at this stage it was ‘very hard to predict’ how much would need to be spent to address the problem, and the wide variation in estimated costs has been based upon scenarios in which between 50 and 90 per cent of the ash population die as a result.
Council leader Councillor Barry Lewis commented that the disease was ‘a blight at the moment in the countryside’.
Ash trees are the second most common species of tree in Derbyshire, being particularly prominent in limestone regions, and it is estimated there are around nine million ash trees in the county as a whole.
The authority’s Ash Dieback Action Plan outlines a minimum of 31,250 infected ash trees are expected to be felled over the next 20 years at an average cost of £600 per tree, with the additional cost of replacing trees coming in at around £120 each.
Coun Renwick said: “We have been in contact with our districts, boroughs and landowners and we are developing information and guidance and an online reporting system.”
Members approved the Ash Dieback Action Plan.
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