Arboricultural method statements for works near roots
A method statement is the document that lets construction happen inside a root protection area. It works when it is written as a sequence of tasks a site manager can follow.
An arboricultural method statement is the document that permits work to happen inside a root protection area rather than simply keeping everyone out of it. Where the tree protection plan draws the fence, the method statement explains what happens on the wrong side of it: which task, in which order, using which technique, supervised by whom. BS 5837:2012 expects one wherever construction is proposed within or close to a protection area, and most councils attach it to the same condition as the protection plan.
The difference between a statement that works and one that gets returned is whether a site manager could follow it. Principles do not survive contact with a delivery schedule. Tasks do.
When a statement is needed rather than a plan
A tree protection plan alone is enough where every retained tree can be fenced off and left alone until practical completion. That is rare on anything other than a spacious site.
The moment any of the following appears, a method statement follows: a driveway or parking area within a protection area, foundations near roots, a service run crossing the area, demolition of a structure inside it, scaffold within the canopy, a level change over roots, or a landscaping operation after the barriers come down.
The statement is written after the Arboricultural Impact Assessment has quantified the incursions, because the assessment establishes what is acceptable and the statement explains how it will be achieved.
Structuring it task by task
Write it in construction sequence and give each task its own numbered section. A workable order is site set-up and barrier installation, demolition and site clearance, excavation and foundations, access and hard surfacing, services, superstructure, then landscaping and barrier removal.
Each task section should contain the same four things.
- Which trees are affected and which part of which protection area is entered.
- The technique, described specifically enough to be priced and to be checked.
- The constraints: plant permitted, materials permitted, exclusions, and the sequence relative to other tasks.
- The supervision requirement, including whether the arboriculturist attends and whether work may proceed in their absence.
Add a drawing reference to every task. A statement that cannot be read against the tree protection plan will produce arguments on site about which tree the paragraph is describing.
Excavation inside the protection area
The principle is that roots are found rather than severed. Excavation is carried out by hand or with an air spade, which removes soil without cutting, and a machine is used only to lift material already loosened, under supervision.
When roots are exposed, the sequence matters. Roots above roughly 25 millimetres in diameter should be retained wherever possible, an approach carried over from utility industry guidance and widely applied by tree officers. Where a root must be cut, it is severed cleanly with a sharp tool back to a side root rather than torn. Exposed roots are kept moist and covered, and the excavation is backfilled promptly with an uncompacted material that will not smother them.
Timing helps. Excavation near roots is better avoided in prolonged dry weather, and a task that leaves roots exposed over a weekend needs a covering arrangement written into the statement.
Where foundations are involved, the technique is usually pile and beam or a cantilevered slab so that the load is carried across the rooting zone rather than through a continuous trench. That decision belongs to the structural engineer and the arboriculturist together, and it is one that should be settled before the planning drawings are fixed.
Services, ducts and trenchless methods
Service routes cause more root damage than buildings, because they are designed late, by parties who never see the tree drawings.
The order of preference is straightforward. Route outside every protection area if the site allows. Where a crossing is unavoidable, use a single shared trench or a common duct so that one crossing serves electricity, water, telecoms and gas rather than four. Where an open trench is not acceptable, use a trenchless method such as directional drilling or thrust boring, with entry and exit pits outside the protection area and the bore at a depth below the main rooting zone.
Two practical points repeat. Utility companies design to their own standards and will not read your method statement unless someone sends it to them, so make that a named responsibility. And connection points are often fixed by the network operator, which can move a crossing to the worst possible position, so raise the constraint with them at the enquiry stage rather than after a wayleave is agreed.
Drainage runs deserve the same treatment, including the outfall from any soakaway, since a soakaway inside a protection area changes the ground water regime as well as requiring an excavation.
Supervision, hold points and reporting
A statement without named supervision is a document nobody enforces.
Name the arboriculturist, give the practice and the contact route, and list the hold points: tasks that cannot start until they have attended and confirmed the preparation is correct, and tasks during which they must be present. Barrier installation, first excavation inside a protection area, and any root pruning are the usual three.
Say what record is produced. A short site monitoring report with photographs after each attendance, retained by the developer and sent to the authority where the condition requires it, is enough. Those records are also what protects you if a complaint is made about damage to a protected tree.
Include a variation procedure. Sites change, and a statement that provides for a written variation agreed with the arboriculturist and notified to the council is far better than one silently departed from.
Writing it so the condition discharges first time
Discharge applications fail for predictable reasons, and they are all avoidable.
Submit the method statement and the tree protection plan together as one package, cross-referenced. Include the survey schedule so the tree numbers can be followed. Provide the technical details for any no-dig construction, including the build-up and the product where one is specified.
Use language that commits. Shall rather than should, and specific rather than appropriate. A statement saying that suitable protection will be provided where necessary commits to nothing, and an officer cannot approve it.
And make sure the statement matches the approved drawings. Where the layout changed between the outline scheme and the discharge application, the method statement has to describe the scheme being built rather than the one the survey was written for.
On sites where construction logistics are tight, the tree measures should also appear in the Construction Management Plan, since compound location, wheel washing, deliveries and material storage are decided there and those are the activities that damage trees.
After the barriers come down, the Landscape Strategy takes over. Ground that was protected for eighteen months can still be compacted in a fortnight of landscaping, so the statement should cover the handover between the two.
You can check the documents a constrained site needs alongside the arboricultural set, and Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see whether tree constraints are flagged on your site. Councils usually expect a suitably qualified author for this work, so use an AI-assisted draft for structure and have the technique specified by an arboriculturist.
PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
When is an arboricultural method statement required?
Whenever construction activity is proposed within a root protection area or close enough to affect a retained tree, and whenever the protective barrier cannot simply exclude everyone for the duration. BS 5837:2012 expects one in those circumstances, and most councils condition it alongside the tree protection plan on any scheme with retained trees of value.
Can a mini digger be used inside a root protection area?
Not for excavation. Excavation inside the area is done by hand or with an air spade so that roots are found rather than severed, though a machine may be used to lift material that has already been loosened, working under supervision. A tracked machine crossing the area at all needs ground protection designed for the load.
What happens when a large root is found?
Work stops at that point and the arboriculturist decides. Roots above roughly 25 millimetres in diameter should be retained wherever possible, following the approach used in utility industry guidance. Where a root has to be cut, it is severed cleanly with a sharp tool back to a side root, and exposed roots are kept moist and covered until backfilling.
How should services be routed near trees?
Outside root protection areas wherever the site allows, in a shared trench or common duct so that one crossing serves several utilities. Where a crossing is unavoidable, trenchless methods such as directional drilling or thrust boring at a depth below the main rooting zone avoid an open trench. Agree the route with the arboriculturist before the utility company designs it.
Who supervises the works?
A named arboriculturist appointed by the developer, with defined hold points at which work cannot proceed until they have attended and signed off. The statement should say who they are, how they are contacted, which tasks they attend, and what record is produced. Some authorities require the monitoring reports to be sent to them as works proceed.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.