Daytime road closures along the Via Gellia will allow the work to be carried out
Via Gellia is a very wooded road and more than 1,000 tress are due to be felled(Image: Google Street View)
Motorists heading back to work after the festive break are being warned to plan ahead as Derbyshire County Council starts further work to remove more than 1,000 trees affected by ash dieback disease along the Via Gellia from Monday (January 5).
It will be impossible to travel along the road (A5012) on weekdays from 8am until 4pm, from just after Woodside Cafe at the junction with the road to Bonsall up to Grangemill (the junction with the B5056).
There will also be a short-term closure of the road from Cromford to Bonsall towards the end of February. Signed diversions will be in place when the road is closed via A6 Matlock Bath, A6 Matlock, A6 Darley Dale, A6 Bakewell, A6 Taddington, A6 Blackwell, A5270, A515 Newhaven, A5012 to Grangemill and vice versa. All work is expected to be completed by February 28.
Ash dieback is a relatively new disease which makes trees brittle and unstable. It has spread very quickly and is now present in most parts of the United Kingdom.
Ash is currently the second most common tree found in Derbyshire and ash dieback is already widespread across the county. It’s expected to infect between 50% and 90% of the ash tree population over the next 10 to 20 years.
Ash dieback is costing local councils a great deal of money to deal with dead and dying trees(Image: PA)
Councillor Charlotte Hill, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for potholes, highways and transport, said: “Felling diseased ash trees by the roadside is a priority for safety reasons and we ask for the public’s understanding while we carry out this vital work.
“We apologise for traffic disruption and road closures but public safety must come first.
“Declining ash trees can pose a danger to people and property. Recent storms and high winds resulted in some diseased trees falling into the road which is why we have accelerated our programme to remove them.”
Councillor Carol Wood, county council’s cabinet member for net zero and environment, added: “We’re making good progress in tackling diseased trees on our own land but there is still work to do.
“We won’t remove any trees unnecessarily. We want to retain trees if they have immunity to the disease and can help new disease-resistant trees get established.
“Private landowners are reminded that trees on their property are their responsibility and they should monitor ash trees for symptoms of ash dieback.
“If we’re aware of trees on private property causing a risk to public safety on a road or public path, we’ll ask the landowner to remove them and if action isn’t taken, we may remove them ourselves and reclaim the cost from the landowner.”
Anyone who spots a tree while out and about and is concerned about its safety can report it at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/ashdieback or via email ashdieback@derbyshire.gov.uk – especially those that are adjacent to highways, on public rights of way or in high-traffic areas of parks.