Shropshire Star

Poplar tree in Newtown third in national competition

It has survived fungal disease and leaf rust, development bulldozers and even having the River Severn diverted around it.

Published
Newtown's Black Poplar

Now Newtown's Black Poplar tree has taken third place in the Woodland Trust Wales Tree of The Year competition.

The town council put forward the magnificent tree for the competition and its deputy mayor, Councillor Richard Griffiths, picked up the award at an event in Cardiff.

He said the town council had entered the tree, which is more than 100 years old, into the Postcode Lottery-sponsored competition

"I was delighted when the tree was placed third out of a short-list of seven," he said.

"We are all aware of the importance of trees to our very existence and third place means we will receive £500 to help look after it."

Thrive

Winning the title was a 400-year-old Sweet Chestnut tree in Pontypool.

In 2017 Newtown’s Brimmon Oak was placed first in the competition and went on to be second in the European tree of the year competition.

The Black Poplar is one of Britain’s rarest and most endangered native species, fighting fungal disease, leaf rusts and poplar scab.

In the 1960s the tree stood on the Llanllwchaiarn side of the river. After the great floods of 1960 and 1964 a flood prevention scheme was needed and the river was diverted - the tree suddenly finding itself on the Newtown side. But it survived and continued to thrive.

It was further threatened in 1990 amid plans to be chopped down to make way for an extension of the car park. Special conditions were put into place to protect it.