DISEASED ash trees near to the centre of Stroud are set to be cut down. The trees are located in the Frome Banks nature reserve, which is on Dr Newton s Way - the bypass which goes round the back of the Waitrose supermarket. Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT) will be working with Gloucestershire County Council and Stroud District Council from this Friday (March 5) to March 15 to fell the trees. This felling work will involve the partial closure of Dr Newton s Way for a number of days. The trees earmarked for removal are infected with ash dieback, a fungal disease affecting ash trees, one of the most common types of tree in the UK.