National Highways 'shame' on A428 tree guards issue

It is just as though National Highways are treating this essential work as some sort of “charitable” activity.

National Highways’ very own management plan demands that all plastic tree guards be removed within five years after planting, before they do real damage to the environment. Are National Highways really going to rely on volunteers to do their dirty work?

The Great Ouse Valley Trust has campaigned tirelessly for the last two years to get National Highways to fulfil its responsibility as a Government body, to remove all redundant plastic within the stated timeframe.

We have the full support of our MP, Jonathan Djanogly, who asked questions at the Commons Committee and also Cllr Stephen Ferguson who filmed a video of support standing in an A428 lay-by.

Yet still, as anyone who uses the A428 knows only too well, the National Highways road verges remain a plastic and litter-strewn national disgrace. The removal of just 2,000 redundant tree guards by volunteers will have next to no impact.

Shame on you National Highways for having the sheer hypocrisy of stating:

“Whilst tree shelters are essential to protecting saplings from animal browsing, it’s also vital that we remove them at end-of-life to ensure a circularity of material use and to remove plastics from the environment.”

“Our environmental approach is very much about minimising impact on both residents and the local environment. That means replacing what is lost during construction and keeping the appearance of the network in-line with the local environment as much as possible.”

If these statements represent National Highways’ policy, then they should act on their own management plan and remove the plastic now. There are still tens if not hundreds of thousands of old tree guards waiting to removed. We demand action.

Graham Campbell

Chairman

Great Ouse Valley Trust