Merton Council is set to discuss its tree strategy at the upcoming Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting on 16 September 2025.
The panel will review the strategy as part of its wider work programme for 2025/26, according to the Sustainable Communities Work Programme 2025-2026.
The council has pledged to plant 10,000 trees this year, and is increasing inspections and watering to ensure the trees are healthy. Barkland Tree Services planted 138 replacement trees in the last quarter in locations including Garth Road, Martin Way and Wimbledon Broadway, as well as in Cottenham Park and Rowan Recreation Ground.
The Idverde & Barkland Tree Services Quarterly Performance Scrutiny Report: Quarter 1 2025/26 noted that service requests completed on time did not meet the target on two occasions due to pollarding work that had to be postponed because of non-compliance with traffic orders by residents.
The Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel met on 1 July 2025, where they discussed performance monitoring. The council have pledged to plant 10,000 trees this year. Inspections and a watering regime are being increased to ensure trees are healthy.
