DORCHESTER'S Riverside Nature Reserve is soon to get a 'haircut' – cutting back, re-pollarding and felling some trees.

Some trees, mainly affected by Ash dieback disease, will be felled as part of the works due to be undertaken later in the winter by Dorchester Town Council.

The exact timing of the work will depend on weather conditions and how water-logged the area is – with a stream and river running alongside the popular site.

The authority says that the work will make the area safer, avoiding the risk of an unexpected failure, and will improve light levels in the reserve, for neighbouring allotments and for those living in the adjacent park home site running parallel with London Road.

Assistant town clerk, Carl Dallison, who heads the council's outdoor services team says that only a small number of the 120 surveyed trees in the reserve will be affected by the works which will see some of the Ash trees cut back to single trunks, known as monoliths.

Mr Dallison said: "The trees in the reserve are of a wide range of ages and species and the works to be carried out later this winter will include many varied operations on a tree-by-tree basis… The works are aimed at aimed at reducing risk and nuisance to neighbouring properties, removing dead trees to remove risk of sudden failure, and reducing the size of diseased trees to reduce the risk of limbs or trees falling into the reserve."

He says with many people regularly walking on the circular boardwalk route through the reserve, which is adjacent to Frome Terrace, it is necessary to remove deadwood to reduce the risk of branches falling.

The works will also include re-pollarding approximately 23 trees to reduce their height, to remove over extended limbs and to prune back to respect property boundaries, others will have their crown 'lifted' to improve light levels.

As part of the operation seven dead trees will be felled to ground level where it is not safe to leave the trunks as standing dead timber; with three diseased trees also to be felled and eight trees reduced to a 4-6 metre monolith.

"Sadly, the reserve has a large number of trees which have Ash dieback disease, which affects trees in different ways: some can tolerate it to a certain extent; others cannot and succumb quite quickly and some have a relatively slow decline.

"Obviously, we have to manage the risk of sudden failure of trees and their branches as the area is open to the public which means reduction of that risk wherever possible… We will always try to do the minimum of work to trees in our ownership to allow them to grow as naturally as possible, but we have to carry out work where they are judged to be dead, diseased, dangerous or causing a statutory nuisance (usually crossing boundary line and causing damage)," said Mr Dallison.

All of the work will have to be carried out without the help of cranes or hydraulic platforms which are unable to get into the wetland site.

Mr Dallison says there is no need for a re-planting programme as the number of trees likely to be lost will be relatively small and the area already has a number of young trees growing naturally, which are likely to flourish once light levels increase.