A comprehensive tree policy is to be drawn up by Oxford City Council following the felling of willows on Osney Island.

The Oxford Mail has been told the public document, the first of its kind for Oxford, would set out strict procedures to be followed when trees have to be cut down.

A database detailing the health of the city's 102,000 trees will also be compiled.

It has emerged the city council had the opportunity to approve a tree audit earlier this year, but decided against the three-year, £521,000 private sector plan.

In November, residents were angered by the felling of 11 willows.

An internal inquiry led by Mike Newman, the city council head of corporate complaints, is examining whether the council acted properly and is due to report back in the New Year.

An application made under the Freedom of Information Act showed that six of the 11 willows were considered to be in "reasonable health", although some contained cavities or other decay. Only one of the six trees was described as being "hazardous."

The willows were assessed by council officers as rotten and a danger to the public on October 5 - three weeks before residents were told of the intention to fell them.

Executive member for a healthier environment, councillor Alan Armitage, who authorised the Osney tree felling, said: "A lack of a tree policy is something we should be addressing."

In October, an inquest heard how a diseased horse chestnut in Gloucester Street, Oxford, crashed on to a parked car during a violent storm, killing 22-year-old student Angela Regoczy. The inquest heard the council had known since 1999 the tree was diseased and a potential hazard. It was due to be removed more than a year before Miss Regoczy was killed.

Green city councillor Sid Phelps, chairman of the environment scrutiny committee, said: "We need a tree policy so members and the public can see that decision-making is transparent and not what some people consider a little uneven. It would appear some things may not have been considered properly."

Leisure services director Sharon Cosgrove said: "Tree risk assessment depends on many factors including the state of the tree, its location and the time of year.

"The council's tree officer inspected the willows at Osney and after considering all the factors recommended the trees should be felled within a month. If he had considered the trees an immediate danger, he would have recommended they were felled sooner."

Council leader John Goddard added: "Safety, in particular, isn't something we can be cavalier about."