In the open area at the bottom of Spa Road between the railway and the beginning of the housing there are trees on the Asda side of the road, while on the other side there are trees between the railway and the entrance road to the football and rugby grounds and at the far end beyond the play areas but nothing in between. So there is no shade or shelter for those using the play areas. More than two years ago we discussed with the relevant officer of Braintree District Council (BDC), who own the land, the possibility of filling this gap. He suggested that there was scope for some 30 trees of mixed species on the site, which BDC could fund. The trees would be planted between the play areas and the road. The site is largely on a slope down to the road and therefore unsuitable for recreation. The area between the play areas and the football ground is used by visiting fairs and circuses and is not available for planting.
Initially it was hoped to carry out the project in the 2021/22 planting season but in the event storm damage in the district meant that BDC had to divert funds to remedial work. It was agreed to postpone the project to the current planting season. However, BDC has not been able to fund any planting in Witham this season and the prospect of future funding is, in the present financial situation, uncertain.
We regard this project as important and accordingly deserving a high priority. When it became clear that no BDC funding could be expected this year, we therefore reserved some of the Witham Town Council (WTC) funding this year in order to make a start on the planting and five trees were planted on 26 January. As ever we are grateful to WTC for its continued support for our work.
A few years ago the Tree Group were kindly left some funds in the will of a local resident. Some of this money has been used in modest quantities to top up funding on various projects but we have held back most, recognising the increasing financial pressure on local authorities, against the time when we may not be able to secure adequate funding for agreed schemes. Given the priority we believe the Spa Road project merits, we decided to use some of our own funds this season to make further progress and with this money we were able to plant seven more trees on 9 February. In accordance with BDC’s preference (and our own) the twelve trees we have planted so far are of a variety of species – alder, downy birch, field maple, hornbeam and lime.
Incidentally, it is worth noting that we get less value from our own money than from local authority funding. Local authorities do not pay VAT and can secure supplier discounts. We must pay VAT and no discounts are available to us.
There are no further funds available to us in this planting season and the season is accordingly at an end. We have not been able to plant as many trees this year as in the last two years – the unavailability of funding from BDC has been a significant problem. We will now start planning our planting for next season, in consultation with the funding bodies, and obviously a priority will be to secure resources to at least make progress with the Spa Road project and, if possible, complete it.
Richard Hawkes
February 2023
