MORE than 25,000 trees in Wyre Forest's parks and open spaces are reaching the end of the road and need to be replaced, it has been revealed.

But councillors have not yet decided whether to fund future replanting.

Andrew Dickens, head of cultural, leisure and commercial services with Wyre Forest District Council, said more than 85 per cent of trees in spaces owned by the authority were planted towards the end of the 18th century and early part of the 19th century. most trees in the district's parks are mature or 'over-mature.'

In a report to a meeting of the executive committee last week he said: "They are part of our heritage but are now mature or over mature and a number are removed each year due to age or disease."

And he said retaining the character of the landscape for future generations required a selective programme of replanting with young trees.

But councillors voted to take no decision on proposals for spending £5,000 on replanting during 2002-03 and a further £5,130 the following year until February.

Mr Dickens said in the light of the financial situation, the priority for the council was balancing the budget. Once this had been done, additional expenditure could be looked at.

The replanting would have to be done in a rolling programme and would involve planting at least 200 standards and 5,000 whips for each of the next five years or even longer.

On concern that newly planted trees would be vandalised he said experience had shown that involving schools in the locality greatly reduced the likelihood of sapling damage or destruction.

He said the planting of a new avenue of trees in Brinton Park and a tree-planting scheme in Springfield Park had both proved successful following work with schools to highlight the importance of the schemes.