Withdean Park Tree Felling: About 200 Elm Trees to Be Removed From Monday 19 October
Trees in Withdean Park (Photo: Brighton & Hove City Council)
Work starts on Monday 19 October to remove around 200 elm trees in Withdean Park, following outbreaks of elm disease. The Brighton & Hove City Council arboriculture team will carry out the felling, which the council says should take around three weeks, and it says the work will be done in one phase.
The council announced the work on 14 October. It says all the affected trees are in a small area of the park, but that the area is so prominent that the work will be noticed across the wider park.
Source: Brighton & Hove City Council news release, Tree felling in Withdean Park, 14 October 2026
What the council is doing, and where
The council says the 200 elms were identified after inspections found a significant spread of elm disease. It says the aim is to manage the spread of the disease and to stop it coming back through the root systems.
The work will be done in one phase, which the council says is to minimise disruption for the woodland, wildlife and park users and to let the site recover quickly. A large proportion of the existing vegetation will stay, and the area will keep being managed to stop regrowth developing from any infected root systems. One mature ash tree is also being felled as part of the job.
Withdean Park, Brighton (Map: Google Maps)
Why trees that look healthy are coming down too
Under the council’s established policy for managing elm disease, the felling covers three groups of trees: infected trees, deteriorating trees, and neighbouring elms that are likely to be affected through their interconnected root systems. The council says some of these trees may look healthy.
“It’s always sad when trees have to be felled, but the work planned for Withdean Park is essential to manage the ongoing problem of elm disease and to protect other healthy trees.”
“Once the work is completed, we will continue to monitor the site to help prevent further spread of these devastating diseases.”
Councillor Alan Robins, Cabinet Member for Sports, Recreation and Libraries
A council committee report from November 2020 explains the science. Elm disease is a fungal disease carried by beetles, which lay their eggs in the bark of elm trees, and it can also pass between elms through joined roots. The report says the beetles are not strong flyers and generally do not travel more than 3 to 4km under their own steam, but can go further with the wind. To contain the disease, it says, infected trees need to be quickly identified and destroyed.
Permission, wildlife and the Forestry Commission
The council says the Forestry Commission has been notified of its plans. The elm removals are being done under a felling licence exemption provided by the Forestry Act for elm disease management. It also says all necessary ecological assessments will be carried out before plans are finalised.
How Brighton and Hove is fighting elm disease
The Withdean Park felling sits within a much bigger programme. In October 2025 the council’s Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee heard an update on tree diseases from Councillor Robins and the council’s arboriculture team, and the figures in the papers show how large the effort is.
The council’s 2020 report describes the city’s elms as nationally important, saying it holds the National Elm Collection. The scrutiny report and its overview presentation are both on the council’s website.
Why elm logs matter
The October 2025 presentation lists elm log storage, elm debris and elm regeneration as a persistent source of infections. The earlier council report says elm beetles are carried in some wood products, firewood in particular, and that any elm logs with the bark still on are potential habitat for the beetles. It adds that the council tries to prevent the sale of elm logs in the city.
The minutes of the October 2025 meeting record that the council has no sanctions policy for people who store logs badly, and that storing logs does cause a problem.
What happens next
Felling starts on Monday 19 October and the council expects it to take around three weeks. Once it is finished, the council says it will keep monitoring the site. More from Parks and Green Spaces, Brighton and Hove City Council and Council and Democracy is on ImJustBrighton.
Sources
- Brighton & Hove City Council news release: Tree felling in Withdean Park, 14 October 2026
- Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Tree Diseases in Brighton & Hove, 14 October 2025, with the overview presentation
- Environment, Transport & Sustainability Committee, Impact of Tree Diseases, 24 November 2020
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