§ 10. Mr. F. Macleanasked the Minister of Works how many elms in Kensington Gardens have been cut down; how many are to be cut down; what steps are taken to ensure that a tree is dangerous or diseased before it is cut down; and what steps have been taken in the past and are being taken now to replace condemned trees.
§ Sir D. EcclesI would refer my hon. Friend to my replies of 14th July, 1953, to my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford and Stone (Mr. H. Fraser) and of 1st December, 1953, to my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Dudley Williams). Out of about 4,000 trees in Kensington Gardens, some 400 elms have been or are shortly to be felled. Advice on the trees was obtained from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and Edinburgh, and from the Department of Forestry at Oxford University. The rotten state of the trees which have been felled has fully confirmed what the experts told me. It may be that in the past more replanting should have been done. In future, this work will be carried out continuously.
§ Mr. MacleanIs it not a fact that a fairly high proportion of the trees that were cut down proved to be perfectly sound on inspection?
§ Sir D. EcclesNo, Sir.