Myth – The council has chopped down several willow trees along the Embankment in Peterborough.
Fact – The council has been Pollarding Willow trees in this area. Pollarding is a pruning technique where a tree's upper branches are cut back to the same point on the trunk to control its size and shape, encouraging a dense head of new growth. Pollarding helps to keep trees healthy and can increase a tree's lifespan by removing weaker branches.
Pollarding has been carried out due to the age of the trees on the Embankment and the fact that some of the larger willows have internal decay, as well as experiencing limb failures in recent times. There were also concerns over the stability of upper canopies in many of the trees.
The willows along the Embankment were previously Pollarded in 2021 and going forwards, the council will look to carry out a cyclical maintenance schedule with the trees due to be re-pollarded back to the new pollard points every three to five years.
Some of the willows have been cut below the pollard knuckle on certain branches. The decision to go below the original pollard points and reduce the length of the selective scaffold branches was chosen to reduce loading and the likelihood of further failures in the future.