More than £100k spent fighting ash dieback on a single Peak District trail

More than £100k has been spent felling and replacing infected trees along a single Peak District trail, as a disease sweeps through the landscape like wildfire.
By Christina Massey
Published 30th Mar 2023, 15:47 BST
Updated 30th Mar 2023, 15:48 BST
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In a meeting of the Peak District National Park Authority, Councillor David Chapman commented: “I don’t know if anybody has walked the Tissington Trail past the Thorpe Station, but it’s absolutely a nightmare to see the work that’s going on with ash dieback, it’s horrendous.”

Acting head of asset management Matt Freestone said the Tissington Trail was ‘among the most significant’ sites to be affected by the fungal disease, estimating around £112k had been spent on that trail alone.

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“We will be looking at our woodlands and car park sites with trees on and we have a plan in place for that and there are costs,” he added.

Acting head of asset management Matt Freestone said the Tissington Trail was ‘among the most significant’ sites to be affected by the fungal disease, estimating around £112k had been spent on that trail alone.Acting head of asset management Matt Freestone said the Tissington Trail was ‘among the most significant’ sites to be affected by the fungal disease, estimating around £112k had been spent on that trail alone.
Acting head of asset management Matt Freestone said the Tissington Trail was ‘among the most significant’ sites to be affected by the fungal disease, estimating around £112k had been spent on that trail alone.

In April last year Derbyshire County Council set out a plan for dealing with the effects of ash dieback and estimated it could cost the authority up to £40.5million over the next 20 years.

Ash trees are particularly prominent in limestone regions and there are around 9million in the Derbyshire as a whole.

Related topics:Peak DistrictDerbyshire County CouncilPeak District National Park AuthorityDerbyshire