HIGH winds brought disruption to The Grove last week as one of Ilkley’s trade-mark cherry trees was blown over and splintered across the junction with Brook Street.

The incident - in which no one was injured - occurred on the evening of Thursday January 30, at exactly same time locals were gathering for a meeting on ‘Trees - the answer to the Climate and Wildlife Crises?’, organised by Climate Action Ilkley, in The Clarke Foley Centre.

Amongst those gathered for the talk by Hannah Marshall, from The Woodland Trust, was Bob Thorp, Bradford Council’s tree and woodland manager. Being close, Bob was called away to assess the damage. So, Ilkley was a tree down and the meeting one expert down, before the discussion could even start on how trees might help capture CO2 in the area.

Fortunately, the cherry tree was the only tree lost on The Grove, although Bob reported 14 such incidents occurred in the area that night. Despite this strange coincidence, the meeting, attended by over 90 people, was able to hear how the planned Northern Forest Project would add 50 million trees across the UK, stretching from Hull, through Yorkshire and Lancashire to Liverpool.

A spokesperson for Climate Action Ilkley said: “Landowners and farmers are being encouraged to join in the scheme. If successful, the project will capture 60 million tons of CO2 by the 2050s. That is an important contribution to climate change issues and equivalent to the present annual CO2 emissions from just over the total population of Yorkshire (six million people) or the annual emissions from about 12 million non-electric cars. The project involves the Woodland Trust, Community Forest Trust and local councils. The project already has government funding of £6m and it is thought that the new forest will generate more than £2 billion for the country’s economy. Exactly where these trees will be located, from a combination of planting and encouraged natural regeneration, is still up for grabs - one it is hoped will replace the one lost on The Grove, so it can contribute. Climate Action Ilkley has several working groups including one on ‘Land and Nature’ and would welcome more people joining.”

The next major meeting will discuss the Ilkley Sustainability Plan at 10.30am to 12.30pm on Saturday, March 14 at the Clarke Foley Centre. The meeting is in collaboration with Ilkley Town Council and all residents and businesses interested in the future of Ilkley are encouraged to attend.