Tree problems and management

Find out about:

  • How to report tree problems
  • How we manage trees in the borough of Rochdale

Trees we manage

We're responsible for managing trees on all council-owned land, which includes:

  • Roads and verges
  • Parks and open spaces
  • Town centres
  • Memorial gardens
  • Cemeteries
  • Sports pitches

Trees we don't manage

We do not manage trees:

  • On land that's privately owned. You will need to contact the landowner.
  • On properties owned by any other housing association or landlord. View contact details for housing associations in the borough
  • Touching overhead wires. If you've seen a tree that's touching or damaging overhead wires. Contact BT Openreach
  • That are causing problems with TV reception.
  • That are blocking sunlight or interfering with solar panels.
  • Dropping honeydew or leaves onto cars or property.
  • Where birds are nesting, it's against the law to intentionally injure or kill a wild bird or damage its active nests. Report bird crime to Greater Manchester Police

Report a tree problem

How you report a tree problem depends on what the problem is:

  • Report a dangerous or fallen tree: if a tree has fallen or is likely to cause a hazard, please ring us using the contact details on this page. During out-of-office hours please ring the Police non-emergency number on 101 or our council emergency number.
  • Report a tree blocking a street light: if a tree is blocking a street light, you need to report a street light problem. Report a street light problem.
  • Report a tree damaging the pavement or road: if a tree makes a pavement or road surface uneven, you need to report damage to footways, pavements and kerbs. Report damage to footways, pavements and kerbs.
  • Report other tree problems: if a tree in an area we manage is damaged, dead, diseased or in need of pruning you need to report tree issues. Report tree issues.

How we manage trees

We have a tree care and management schedule for the trees in the borough which we carry out twice a year. We aim to do this once when trees are in leaf and once when they're not.

The tree work we carry out on our tree management schedule includes:

  • Crown lifting and thinning - removal of stems and branches to maintain the health of the tree.
  • Cutting branches that are growing towards road signs or street lights.
  • Removing dead, diseased or dangerous trees. We replace every tree we cut down with 2 new ones.

All waste from the work we carry out on trees is recycled and turned into compost or reused.

 

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