The stump grinder is an essential piece of machinery that remove the felled trees stumps from within the public footway and grassed open spaces. Tree stumps have to be removed or they become a trip hazard, or hinder grass mowing operations (can cause serious expensive damage to mowers if hit). Also, new replacement trees cannot be planted unless the stump is ground out. The council fells hundreds of trees annually and the majority of the stumps have to be ground out. The current stump grinder is almost 10 years old and is regularly braking down and is no longer fit for purpose. There would inevitably be an increase in claims against the council if the stumps were not removed, and the increased cost of dealing with such claims.