Many people ask about the trees and rhododendrons that have been felled and removed from the estate — in Betty's Wood in 2014, and Lady Blantyre's Wood in 2023. Here are a few details about the disease that affected them.
What is it?
Phytophthora ramorum is a plant disease that kills several species of tree. It spreads by spores — windborne, by contact with humans or animals, or carried on plant material.
Is it harmful to humans or animals?
There is no evidence of it affecting any other species. The biosecurity operations carried out were to prevent the spread of the disease to other trees.
Where is it?
Within St Ives it is detected on rhododendrons, which act as a carrier, and was found on larch and sweet chestnut trees in Betty's Wood in 2014.
How did it affect St Ives?
Larch is a nationally important commercial forestry crop. To protect stocks, the Forestry Commission imposed a statutory plant health notice ordering the removal of larch and sweet chestnut, felled by licensed contractors.
Find out more at woodlandtrust.org.uk and Forestry England.
4,000 trees in woodland to be felled to prevent spread of disease
A swathe of trees in an ancient woodland will be chopped down to prevent the spread of a deadly disease. The Forestry Commission issued a notice to Bradford Council urging removal of trees infected with larch tree disease from the St Ives Estate in Bingley. Around 4,000 trees were likely to be felled — many planted in the 1940s to replace timber cut for the war effort.
The disease mostly affects larch and sweet chestnut but is also hosted by rhododendron, and is highly infectious — causing 'sudden death' in trees. Invasive rhododendron was cleared at the same time, as part of a plan to regenerate the ancient native woodland dating back to the early 19th century. The work was carried out on the western side of the estate, between Coppice Pond and Keighley Road, known as Lady Blantyre's Wood, with some trees also removed from Bingley St Ives Golf Club to the north.
Councillor Sarah Ferriby, portfolio holder for Healthy People and Places, said: "We appreciate that the felling will cause some disruption to visitors to St Ives, and it will dramatically alter its appearance until regeneration and new planting gets underway. Once the felling is complete we will be running a number of community planting days to restock the cleared areas."
Replanting the woodland
In January 2024, members of the public and the Friends of St Ives joined Bradford Council to plant 1,000 oak trees over a couple of sessions — planted in groups of five above and below the path. We checked on some of the oak 'plugs' in September 2024: they looked to have taken and were doing well.
