More than 1000 infected trees will be removed from a beauty spot in Paisley due to the outbreak of a disease.

Works are set to begin at Gleniffer Braes on Monday and are expected to be finished by the end of August.

The patch of woodland will be felled because of phytophthora ramorum - a highly destructive, algae-like organism which causes extensive damage and death in some plant and forest species, including larch trees.

A Renfrewshire Council email confirmed the local authority had been served with a Statutory Plant Health Notice, which requires the removal of all larch trees within a designated zone by August 31 of this year.

It will see 1041 trees removed, as well as additional works to take away a small number of dead and windblown trees within the specified area.

Glasgow Times:

An email, sent to elected members from the council’s streetscene manager, said: “The disease ‘phytophthora ramorum’ has been aggressively spreading throughout the west coast since it was first discovered in 2002, and Renfrewshire is part of the risk reduction zone.

“Scottish Forestry have confirmed an outbreak of phytophthora ramorum within the Braes and we have been served with a Statutory Plant Health Notice which requires the removal of all larch trees within a designated radius control zone by August 31, 2022.

“This will see 1041 infected trees removed, as well as additional works to remove a small number of dead and windblown trees within the control zone.

“The works are planned to begin on July 25, 2022, and will be completed by August 31, 2022.”

The correspondence confirmed that all larch trees in south-west Scotland will be felled by 2032, because there is no known cure for the disease and eradication is considered unachievable.

This means further works will be needed in Renfrewshire in the future.

However, the email added: “A variety of species will be planted to replace the larch that are felled to minimise the impact of their loss in the landscape.”