Dozens of trees were dug up in Kloosterveen last month. During the construction of the Asser district, the wrong species were placed en masse, causing nuisance, danger and a bill of 60,000 euros.
The eastern part of Kloosterveen is a green neighborhood with many trees. That is precisely what makes living here so attractive. Nevertheless, more than sixty trees have been dug up in the past period, including in the Hertenlaan, Everlaan and Gazellelaan. Nearly fifty chestnut trees were removed from Wolvenlaan.
A huge clearcut, Assen Centraal concluded. The council wanted to know why. Answers to written questions show that the planting of the trees did not go as it should twenty years ago.
Large, sharp thorns
At the time, for example, the wrong type of honey locust was planted on the Hertenlaan and Hindenlaan. It should have been thornless and was so when planted. Nevertheless, large, sharp thorns grew from the trunk later on. ‘These caused problems and were dangerous for children playing’, writes the Board of B and W. ‘We replaced the trees for safety reasons.’
Things also went wrong during the planting at Everlaan and Gazellelaan. Ornamental pears were planted here that would bear little or no fruit. That turned out to be a sales pitch: as the trees got older, the trees actually became full of pears.
‘For several years now we have received complaints from residents who were experiencing excessive nuisance from the fruit,’ explain B and W. ‘In late summer, the fruits caused slipperiness, a bad smell and attracted wasps. Sweeping the street more often did not take away the complaints, because the fruits fell on the ground en masse every day.’
Expensive lesson
The fifty red horse chestnuts along the Wolvenlaan would normally become large trees, but their growth was stunted and many chestnuts have become ill in recent years due to chestnut hemorrhage. These trees also had to be removed. They have been replaced by three different types of elm.
At the time, people were probably not well informed by the nursery about the type of trees. Assen has lost 60,000 euros to the replanting operation and says that it will think more carefully when planting trees in the future. ‘By mixing tree species more with each other, as we have now done on Wolvenlaan, there is less risk of a complete tree structure failing. However, we cannot guarantee that it will never happen again. Working with a natural product is not always predictable.’