Why don't councils plant fruit trees?

[NewYearNewTwatName]

I have wondered this since I was a child.

The local council are busy planting trees on any bit of green space available at the moment, especially round residential areas.

Why couldn't some of them be a mix of things like cherry, apple, plum, pear?
may be nut trees too

It's more important for the environment for them to plant native tree species.

“ That doesn't sound like a good reason to not plant fruit trees if the best reasons are bird shit and some very unlucky child being hit on the head by a falling apple.”

Yeah, but there’s absolutely no upside to the council from fruit trees. There’s only potential downsides. In the context of planting trees in grassy fields fruit trees might make sense, depending on if they’re actually trying to plant a woodland or just some shade in a park (though the fruit makes it harder to sit under them...). But I’d been thinking about my local council which is currently planting on roadside/pavement verges - I’d actually campaign against any fruit trees there. They’re just a pain. Nostalgia about picking apples is not a reason - the developer planted fruit trees round here are never picked. I tell my children specifically not to eat random cherries and plums - I don’t trust they can differentiate between that and poisonous berries.

@expectopelargonium

It's more important for the environment for them to plant native tree species.

Plenty of native fruit and nut trees to choose from.

My parents have an apple tree in their garden and every year, they have swarms of wasps around the rotting fruit on the ground. They pick huge amounts off the tree but there is always loads that fall too. It’s a pain when trying to cut the grass too.

Some do - Milton Keynes has loads of fruit trees.

In my local village the parish council planted over 1000 fruit trees.

I tell my children specifically not to eat random cherries and plums - I don’t trust they can differentiate between that and poisonous berries.

This too!

OP the playpark outside my house has apple, pear and plum trees planted by the council.

As soon as the trees start to fruit kids pick them off and lob them at each other.

I've managed to get about 2 pears and a handful of plums when fully ripe. One child didn't believe the plums were real edible things till I ate a couple and offered him one.

I've asked the kids not to break off branches and unripe fruit, have explained that the fruit can be eaten if left to ripen, have pointed out the trees to parents hoping they will influence their DC's behaviour (and save £££ by getting free fruit).

So far no change in the destruction. I feel sorry for the council having their good intentions disregarded.

Maintenance, mess, litigation, and wasps?

I wonder if adventurous children would be more inclined to climb a fruit tree, and the council is worried they'd be held liable for any injuries should they fall?

I lived in an estate (married quarters) . There was lots of Apple trees beside the play park . Unfortunately the fallen fruit attract hoards of wasps , with children being stung , pretty sure they were taken down in the end . It's just not practical .

Well the trees being planted are on the really really wide grass areas between a small residential road and a busier main road, it looks like they will be to provide a sight and sound barrier between the roads.

also dotted about on large triangular greens on housing estates.

I only mow the lawn under the trees once the fruit has pretty much gone.

feel like I should have put this in AIBU so I could be one of those OP who stamps their feet and shouts, "but I'm not"

It used to quite common to plant fruit trees on council estates.
Anything built around the 30's to 50's is likely to have apples, often specific jam making varieties.
There's quite a lot near us and once a year we fill a bin bag and make jam, apple juice and cider.
I don't think they're super popular with anyone else though.
You can tell by the amount left on the trees that people aren't picking them.
I think mostly residents are annoyed at them falling on to their cars.
I don't know how popular they were even back in the day.
The idea of happy jam making council tenants might only ever have only existed in the minds of developers.

We have loads of "public" fruit trees here, from when the land was plotland dwellings before the war and before they were compulsory purchased for development.

Almost no one picks the fruit and it does make a mess when it drops, a mess that can be dangerous when it makes pavements slippery.

People don't even go blackberrying now. On most fruit trees left to their own devices, the fruit would be out of reach from the ground anyway.

BMW6 aww that is sad.

as for plums and cherries being mistaken for poisonous berries, 🤣 they look nothing like berries and you tell your children to only eat things from the trees you say are plums and cherries and ok to eat from.

maybe we need a public awareness campaign on fruit trees? so people actually pick the fruit leaving less mess and wasps about?

as for plums and cherries being mistaken for poisonous berries, 🤣 they look nothing like berries and you tell your children to only eat things from the trees you say are plums and cherries and ok to eat from.

The primary school my children went to has a hedgerow along the back of the school field. DS1 was actually given a proper punishment (not just a telling off) for picking and eating blackberries and encouraging friends to do the same.

Is it because fruit trees planted on contaminated soil would produce contaminated fruit? Therefore the council would have to do costly soil assessment first.

they would be open to being sued if anyone ate it and fell ill i guess.

I know a few housing developments that are going through planning with community orchards on them.

They do require more looking after than just a normal tree plus some arsehole would probably try and sue the council if they picked an apple and choked on the pip

As PPs have said,I would imagine that it's because of the mess they would make when the fruit drops off. I can also imagine that there'd be problems arising concerning people living in the nearby houses claiming 'ownership' of the trees, (similar to the way they claim the rights to parking outside their house) and arguments would ensue if passers-by were helping themselves to apples etc.

I’m glad to say that any blackberries near me seem to get hoovered up. I often see people picking them and have done so myself. I don’t see much else about

BMW6’s story is sad. Destruction and ignorance in one.

I think I know why- we have a plum tree on our road and in the autumn the fallen fruit attracts no end of rats. You see them brazenly grabbing the forums in their teeth and squeezing it down the nearby drain to feed their 6863 rat babies.

Plums not forums

Ours does. My park is full of cherry, walnut and hazelnut trees........ The birds and squirrels get to most of them before us humans but still.

@TotorosFurryBehind

Is it because fruit trees planted on contaminated soil would produce contaminated fruit? Therefore the council would have to do costly soil assessment first.

No.