According to the Woodland Trust, it will kill up to 80 per cent of all ash trees in the country as native trees have no resistance to it, costing around £15bn and devastating wildlife species which rely on ash trees. In North Lanarkshire, evidence of infection was found in several council wards with a contractor hired to carry out remediation work in four of these. However, problems with the work have meant that problems are still present in Bellshill and Motherwell West as well as Cumbernauld East. Trees normally take around 5-10 years to fully degrade from ash dieback but this seems to be speeding up. The council is working on a new plan to manage its arboreal estate, including various options for the planting of new urban and woodland trees as well as deer management and the promotion of biodiversity.

Source: The Times November 05, 2023 10:01 UTC