I visited the South Devon Highway at the weekend and saw for myself the evidence of the failure of the tree planting programme. The saplings that were planted as part of the road building programme have failed to grow, and the majority have in places died off due to lack of basic maintenance.
Trees are accepted as a highly desirable indeed necessary component of any new road building programme, and the verdant growth alongside many of our motorways bears testimony to the fact. It isn’t simply that they are objects of real beauty, they improve air quality and reduce the impact of noise. So, I have written to the Officer i/c Highways to ask for various improvements, including the replacement planting of trees already dead and hopefully a significant additional number. Basic maintenance is also a vital aspect of any future planting scheme, because clearly there has been precious little if any maintenance to date. Residents deserve better.