Tree teams assessing storm damage

Tree teams in Exeter have been busy assessing damage caused by Storm Henk which saw a large horse chestnut tree come crashing down on a busy road beside a popular park.

It was confirmed this morning that gusts of up to 81 mph were recorded at Exeter Airport on Tuesday (January 2), the highest speeds for over 30 years.

Exeter City Council and its contractors dealt with several reports of large trees being uprooted, including a fully mature Baumann’s horse chestnut – believed to be around 100 years old -  on the edge of Heavitree Pleasure Ground, which fell across the nearby Whipton Lane, blocking the road.

Fortunately no-one was hurt in the incident and contractors from Devon County Council were quickly on the scene to clear up the debris and open up the road.

Tree teams from the city council will now be assessing the tree – which was part of a line of four  horse chestnuts - and deciding whether to remove the timber or allow it to remain in the park as a benefit to biodiversity.

A tree officer for the council described the effects of the high winds on trees in Exeter as “significant storm damage”.

Among the trees damaged by the storm were a large oak tree in Pinhoe, a mimosa which came down close to the Roman wall in Northernhay Gardens, and a tree in Stoke Hill, which will be replaced by two new trees.