Can you please tell me for the years 2015 to 2020 how many trees you have been responsible for planting in the borough of Havering. Of these, how many are still healthy, how many are failing and how many have died. Can you please also provide the cost as a total and per tree including details of the maintenance plan to sustain the trees, date of planting and documented proof that the trees are being watered as contracted.

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Our Ref:         FOI-0784-2021

Thank you for your request received on 7 August 2020 asking for information about tree maintenance in the London Borough of Havering.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require. You asked:

Can you please tell me for the years 2015 to 2020 how many trees you have been responsible for planting in the borough of Havering. Of these, how many are still healthy, how many are failing and how many have died.

We can provide specific details on the number of street trees planted on the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) only in Havering for the years below:

2018/19: 11 street trees were planted by TfL
2019/20: 24 street trees were planted by TfL

For previous year we do not hold details of the number of trees planted per year by specific borough (note this was published in an MQ in 2018). This issue was identified in 2018 which is why this is now recorded.

Havering is within the North East area and we can provide the numbers for this area from 2016. This area also includes: Redbridge, Newham, Barking and Dagenham, Waltham Forest, Enfield, Haringey

North East New
16/17  154
17/18  0

We do not hold specific reports on the health of each individual tree, however we can confirm that each street tree on the TLRN is surveyed once a year which checks on the health of the tree. Any tree failing the survey will be removed and replaced, although not always in exactly the same location if this has been a factor in effecting the health of the tree or for a safety reason, such as blocking the view of road users. If trees cannot be replaced in the same financial year they will be replaced the year after.

We hold the details for why street trees were removed in Havering for the following years:

2018//19: 4 trees were removed due to defective tree surveys
2019/20: 18 trees were removed due to safety concerns

If newly planted trees die these are replaced by our contractors.

Can you please also provide the cost as a total and per tree including details of the maintenance plan to sustain the trees, date of planting and documented proof that the trees are being watered as contracted.

We do not have reports that provide the specific information that you have requested, however we can provide some details.

Unfortunately due to COVID work restrictions for a number of spring / summer months we were not able water our trees as normal as all non-safety critical activities were paused.

As part of our LoHAC (London Highways Alliance Contract) contract, contractors are only required to water trees in the first three years that they have been planted. The trees that fall into this category in Havering are now scheduled to be watered, however this can be affected by the weather, if there is heavy rainfall or severe heat frequencies can change. Our annual tree surveys will detect if a tree is not in good health and any action for the contractor such as further watering will be identified.

The detailed of costs for planting and maintaining individually and total trees are part of LoHAC. In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act we are not obliged to provide the requested information on costs as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2) prejudice to commercial interests.

In this instance the exemption has been applied as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of us and our suppliers by hindering their ability to operate competitively in the market place for future contracts of this nature. These contracts are currently out for tender and provision of this information would allow rival bidders and potential clients to have an insight on their pricing structure and manipulate this to hinder the ability of our contractors to conduct their business as competitively as possible. LoHACs are not aware of the rates of other LoHACs.

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, but in this instance we feel that the balance of public interest lies in favour of withholding the information to ensure that future tender processes of this nature remain fair and effective for all parties.

As part of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy we have a target of planting 1% more trees across on the TLRN every year to help sustain and increase the tree numbers on our network. Any trees removed from the network are replaced as detailed above.

We do not hold information on the specific dates that trees are planted. Our planting season runs annually between November and March each year.

If this is not the information you are looking for please feel free to contact me.

The impact of current circumstances on TfL’s resources means we are not able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.
 
Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London

[email protected]

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