Ash dieback in hedgerow trees: before and after
Ash is common in the field-boundary hedgerows around Shepherdswell and Coldred. Most of those standards now carry Hymenoscyphus fraxineus to some degree. Here is what an infected hedgerow boundary looks like before anyone has assessed it, what it looks like once the assessment is done and monitoring is in place, and what you have to work through to get from one state to the other.
Before
Walk a typical hedgerow along one of the farm tracks between Barfrestone and Eythorne in June and you may see it straight away: ash standard trees showing bare, grey branches in the upper third of the crown while everything around them is in full summer leaf. Some will show bronze-brown wilting on the current season's new growth, shoots that looked fine in April dying back from the tips. On closer inspection, the bark at the base of dead side-shoots shows a characteristic diamond-shaped lesion: a discoloured patch of orange-brown or ash-grey against the smoother surface of healthy bark, marking where the fungus has killed the cambium. Clusters of thin epicormic shoots, the tree's stress response, push out from the lower main stem. It looks as though the tree had a bad winter. It is midsummer.
After
A properly assessed hedgerow boundary, a year or two on from the initial survey, looks different in a specific way: not necessarily fewer ash trees, but understood ash trees. Dead wood above public footpaths and access tracks has been removed. The trees that had reached genuine hazard stage have been felled and the gaps replanted with chalk-tolerant alternatives: field maple, wild cherry, or oak whips planted into the hedgerow line. The trees that remain have a documented condition rating and an agreed monitoring interval. Some may stabilise; Forest Research has confirmed that a small proportion of UK ash trees carry natural genetic tolerance and survive long-term. For the boundary as a whole, the legal and practical liability is visible and managed rather than quietly accumulating.
What happens in between: the assessment and management process
1. Survey when the disease is most visible
The best time to walk and record the trees is late spring to midsummer: May to July. The contrast between infected and healthy growth is sharpest then, a tree that looks vaguely sparse in leafless winter can be definitively symptomatic in June. Bare crowns stand out against full leaf on surrounding species, and fresh wilting on current-season shoots confirms active infection rather than old deadwood. I record each ash standard along the boundary with a simple condition rating: lightly affected (crown thinning under 25%), moderately affected (25 to 50% crown loss), or severely affected (above 50% dieback, or significant stem lesions that cut into the cambium).
2. Check the legal position before doing anything
Ash trees in and around Shepherdswell village may fall within the conservation area, or may carry an individual Tree Preservation Order. Either status constrains what can be done without prior consent from Dover District Council. A tree in a conservation area with a trunk diameter greater than 75mm at 1.5 metres above ground is protected under section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and requires a six-week prior notice before works can begin, even if the tree is visibly diseased, unless it is dead (five working days' notice) or an immediate danger (notify as soon as practicable afterwards). Worth establishing this at the start of the process, not at the point where a hazard has become urgent and the six weeks feels like a problem.
3. Match the intervention to the risk level
Not every infected ash tree needs to come down. The Forestry Commission and the Tree Council both recommend a risk-proportionate approach based on the tree's condition and its proximity to people:
- Lightly affected, away from regular use: monitor annually and do nothing until condition changes. The tree may stabilise. Retained standing trees also provide habitat value that is worth preserving where the risk is low.
- Moderately affected, near a path or structure: remove dead and dying branches above the risk area. This reduces the hazard without committing to full removal and gives any tolerant trees the best chance.
- Severely affected, major crown loss with basal stem lesions, near regular users: fell and replace. A tree at this stage is unlikely to recover and presents genuine structural risk.
The practical test I use for "near users" is whether the tree's crown or any sizeable limb can reach a public right of way, a road, a building, or a field where stock regularly gather. For a hedgerow along a farm track the key question is whether the track is in working daily use or more occasional.
4. Time the work to avoid the nesting season
Deadwooding and pruning of infected trees can in principle be done at any time of year where the hazard is pressing. Felling of whole trees, or of major sections of crown, is better done in winter: the structure is more visible and the work stays well clear of the nesting season. See the callout below on the WCA 1981 position before scheduling any felling between March and August.
Dead ash is not empty ash: the nesting season position
Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to intentionally damage or destroy an active wild bird's nest. This applies to severely dieback-affected ash, because standing trees with dying and dead limbs are actively used for nest sites: great spotted woodpeckers excavate chambers in the softening deadwood, jackdaws use the natural cavities that form as limbs die back. In the hedgerows around Coldred and Barfrestone this is not a theoretical concern. Any felling or heavy crown work on a dieback-affected ash between 1 March and 31 August requires a nest check immediately before the work begins. Outside the nesting window, bats are protected year-round under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017: if a tree has significant loose or fissured bark, a brief assessment for bat roost potential before felling is good practice and may be legally required.
5. Plant replacements before the gaps become permanent
The structural function of an ash standard in a hedge line, holding the boundary open and providing shade, is lost the moment the tree comes down, and a gap that is not planted within a season or two tends to stay open. The Forestry Commission's ash dieback guidance is clear: plant replacement species as soon as the ground is workable after felling. For the thin chalk soils around Shepherdswell and Coldred the most reliable replacements are field maple (Acer campestre), which establishes well on shallow chalk and carries strong autumn colour, wild cherry (Prunus avium), which does well on the free-draining soils along the North Downs scarp, and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) for boundaries where there is room for a long-term large standard. Bare-root whips planted in the November to February window are both cheaper and better suited to these fast-draining soils than container-grown stock planted later in the year.
Related guides
Got ash trees you are not sure about?
I work across Shepherdswell, Coldred and the North Downs villages. If you have ash standards in a hedgerow and want an honest assessment of where they sit and what, if anything, needs to happen, call 07763 100 477 or send a photo to hello@shepherdswellhedges.co.uk.
Sources: Forestry Commission / gov.uk, "Managing ash dieback in England" (gov.uk/guidance/managing-ash-dieback-in-england, confirmed September 2026); Forest Research, Chalara manual chapter 2: Managing ash trees (forestresearch.gov.uk); The Tree Council, "Ash Dieback Disease: A Guide for Tree Owners" (treecouncil.org.uk); Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 1; Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017; Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 211.