Bright future for the Grantham Oak

 ‘The Oak of Belton Lane’ – also fondly referred to as ‘the Grantham Oak’ – is perhaps the most surprising and impressive tree in town. The oak stands on the eastern side of Belton Lane, to the north of the town of Grantham, beside a pedestrian crossing and surrounded by a crescent of residential housing (built in 1948). This is not the typical location for a tree which is likely to be over 500 years old!

It is a pedunculate or English Oak (Quercus robur) has a girth of 7.02m when measured at 1.5m above the ground. To give a rough visualisation of this – it would take over four adults reaching finger-tip to finger-tip to hug this tree. Using this measurement of girth, we can estimate the age of this tree – although this is not an exact science, and is subject to speculation over the early growing conditions of the tree and the stresses or privileges it might have endured or enjoyed over the years.

In autumn 2018, after seeing a utility company setting up their heavy materials underneath the canopy of this 500 year-old colossus (trucks, piles of equipment, a portacabin) and workmen digging trenches  all within meters of the tree a member of the Woodland Trust’s Street Trees team reported the situation as a threat – which in turn thankfully led to a brighter future for one of Lincolnshire’s best-loved street trees.

Knowing the damage the workmen could have unwittingly caused to the tree’s root system the local council (South Kesteven District Council) were contacted and within 24 hours they had moved the utility company’s equipment to safer ground and wheels were set in motion for greater future safeguards.

Ongoing concerns were expressed to the council about vehicles continuing to be allowed to drive across the root zone to access the highway so discussions were held with SKDC officers and the Woodland Trust, including our Ancient Tree expert and an outside consultant, to find ways to protect the zone around its roots and provide a much needed top dressing of mulch. At the same time we needed to look for realistic solutions to be able to retain vehicular access for the residents living in close proximity to the tree, and it was also a great opportunity to secure its healthy future.

A root radar survey was carried out in December 2018 which indicated where the main roots were located and to be avoided by the post installation. 7m from the canopy is the recommended exclusion zone for vehicles – although not as much as we would normally want.

‘The utility company workmen actually did the Grantham oak a favour; it’s never been better protected.’

The first phase of the protection measures was to install posts and rope under the canopy and mulch also now provides the roots with nutrients and improves the soil.

In March 2019, further measures were carried out around the outer edge of the tree. A protective surface was installed by a ground protection specialist on the wider area of the surrounding canopy. This allows for vehicles to safely drive around the tree without causing impaction to the roots beneath.  The weight of cars can easily crush tree roots and by doing this work it will help prevent further damage.  Top soil and grass seed has also being provided and grass growth is currently being established, which will take time owing to vehicles needing access and having to drive over the seeding. Nevertheless the protective surface is working.

The last phase is the installation of an interpretation panel to provide interested passers-by  information about the history of the tree and the local area.

The work has been carried out by South Kesteven District Council in partnership with the Woodland Trust’s Street Trees project which has been supported by funding by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and over £15,000 has been spent safeguarding Grantham’s famous oak as part of its wider street trees initiative. It is hoped that this pilot scheme can be used to help educate other communities and councils across the UK about a best practice approach to protecting vulnerable urban trees.