What Is Ash Dieback, and Does It Affect Trees in Kent?

Ash Dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) is a fungal disease that has spread rapidly across the UK since it was first confirmed here in 2012. It is now widespread throughout Kent and South East London, and is considered the most significant threat to British trees since Dutch Elm Disease.

The disease is caused by a fungus that originated in Asia, where native ash species have developed resistance. European and British ash trees have no such resistance, meaning infection is almost always fatal, typically within three to five years in mature specimens.

How to Identify Ash Dieback

The symptoms of Ash Dieback are most visible during summer and autumn. Signs to look for include:

• Wilting, blackened or late-emerging leaves in summer
• Die-back from the tips of branches inward, often starting at the crown
• Diamond-shaped lesions or discolouration on bark at the base of dead shoots
• White or creamy fungal fruiting bodies at the base of fallen leaf stalks in late summer
• Epicormic growth (shoots emerging from the trunk) as the tree attempts to compensate
• Structural weakness: infected trees can become hazardous within 2–3 years of visible symptoms

Is There a Cure?

There is currently no treatment or cure for Ash Dieback. Some trees show partial resistance and may survive longer or in a reduced state, but the disease cannot be stopped once a tree is infected. Research is ongoing into breeding resistant ash populations for future replanting programmes.

Your Obligations as a Landowner

As a landowner, you have a legal duty of care to ensure trees on your property do not pose an unacceptable risk to people or property. This obligation applies regardless of whether you knew about the disease. If a diseased ash tree falls and causes injury or damage, you may be held liable.

Ash trees in advanced stages of Ash Dieback lose structural integrity rapidly, often with little external warning. The risk of branch or whole-tree failure increases significantly once die-back exceeds 50% of the canopy.

We strongly recommend having ash trees assessed if you have not done so recently, particularly those in locations where failure could affect people, vehicles or structures.

What We Recommend

We carry out ash tree assessments across Kent and South East London. Our arborists will evaluate the level of infection, assess structural condition and risk, and provide a clear recommended management schedule, from monitoring through to phased or immediate removal.

Where trees are felled, we work to give the timber a second life through our milling programme where possible, rather than simply chipping good hardwood.

"In our area we're seeing a significant increase in Ash Dieback referrals. The concerning thing isn't the disease itself. It's how quickly the structural risk escalates once die-back reaches the main scaffold branches."

Jack, Founder, I Am Lumberjack