MSPs to get trees disease update

Nov 28 2012

Scottish environment minister Paul Wheelhouse will face questions from MSPs on the action being taken to halt the spread of the disease threatening to devastate the UK's ash trees.

He will update Holyrood's Environment Committee on the summit held earlier this month at the Scottish Parliament looking at ways of controlling Chalara ash dieback, which has been detected at more than 150 sites in the UK.

The summit came after Forestry Commission officials completed a rapid action survey of 2,730 ash sites across Scotland.

A total of 14 infected sites were confirmed near East Kilbride, Lesmahagow and Leadhills in South Lanarkshire; Scone in Perthshire; Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway; Carrbridge in the Highlands; Blairgowrie in Perthshire, Montrose in Angus; Eyemouth in the Borders; Kilmacolm in Renfrewshire and at a private nursery in Moray.

There are other confirmed infection sites near Glendevon in Perth and Kinross and Cowdenbeath and Kinghorn, both Fife.

One per cent of the trees in Scotland are ash trees. They are said to be important for sustaining biodiversity and they are valuable to commercial forestry.

Commenting ahead of the committee meeting, Mr Wheelhouse said: "The Scottish stakeholder summit on November 13 was attended by a wide range of bodies and a number of useful and positive suggestions were put forward for further consideration."