Trees

Rossendale Borough Council owns and manages a substantial amount of land in the Borough and is responsible for trees on Council-controlled land, mainly within parks, cemeteries, play areas, green spaces and woodlands.

The Council manages trees on Council-controlled land to keep the risk of harm to people and damage to property from falling branches and trees at an acceptably low level whilst retaining the many social, environmental and economic benefits that trees and woodlands provide.

The Council has adopted a risk-based approach to managing trees to ensure its limited resources are used effectively. Trees presenting a higher likelihood of harm because of their condition, location or the presence of likely targets will be inspected and managed more frequently than trees presenting a lower likelihood of harm. Some trees in remote and very low-occupancy areas may not receive routine cyclical inspections or works.

Eliminating all risk from trees is unachievable. Trees are living organisms and can fail unpredictably, including when they appear to be in reasonable condition. A proportionate risk-based approach is therefore used so that resources are directed to those trees and locations where the risk of harm is greatest.