Trees and Arboriculture – Page 11
BS 5837 tree surveys, root protection, method statements and Tree Preservation Orders.
Trees and Arboriculture articles – page 11
262 articlesWhy a category U tree still belongs in a BS 5837 survey
A category U tree stays in the schedule, on the constraints plan and in the method statement. Here is what a reviewer checks before accepting the categorisation.
Landscape and tree conditions: wording, timing and discharge
Landscaping conditions set a scheme, a planting date, tree protection and a five year replacement duty. Sequencing them against the build programme is where most schemes lose time.
Canopy cover targets and how policies apply them
Canopy cover targets turn tree planting into a number a case officer can check. The arguments are about what maturity the proposed canopy is measured at, and whether the soil volume supports it.
Street trees and highway works: who decides
A tree in the footway belongs to the highway authority, not the planning authority and not the householder. That single fact decides most access designs.
Boundary trees: overhanging branches and ownership
A tree belongs to whoever owns the land where its trunk stands. You may cut back branches to the boundary line, but the cuttings stay the owner's property and a preservation order stops you entirely.
Tree works during the bird nesting season
It is an offence to damage or destroy the nest of a wild bird while it is in use or being built. That applies all year, which is why a pre-works check matters more than the calendar.
Arboricultural supervision: hold points and monitoring reports
A supervision condition turns a method statement into something enforceable. Set the hold points at tender stage, report per stage rather than retrospectively, and self-report any breach.
How a tree constraints plan shapes a site layout
The constraints plan turns a tree survey into geometry. Root protection areas, shade arcs, future canopy and clay foundation zones usually fix the house position before the first wall is drawn.
Tree shading and daylight objections: what counts in planning
Planning cannot make a neighbour cut back a tree. Where trees do count is in the daylight and sunlight of a proposed layout, and in whether a design creates future pressure to fell.
Veteran trees: how to identify them and what follows
A veteran tree is irreplaceable habitat in national policy, protected whether or not a Tree Preservation Order exists. Identify it by its features, buffer it at 15 times stem diameter, and design around it.
Ancient woodland buffers and irreplaceable habitat
Biodiversity net gain cannot offset ancient woodland. Here is how the buffer works, which indirect effects consultees raise, and the layout sequence that avoids an objection.
Important hedgerows under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997
Countryside hedgerow removal runs on its own 42 day notice procedure. Here is which hedgerows are covered, what makes one important, and where the exemptions really apply.
Trees and subsidence: the evidence councils accept
Councils refuse subsidence felling applications that arrive with a loss adjuster's letter and nothing else. Here is the seven-part evidence package that works, and the alternatives to felling.
Replanting duties after removing a protected tree
Removing a tree under a Tree Preservation Order usually triggers a duty to plant a replacement, even where the felling was exempt. Here is how the duty works and what a replacement notice requires.
Dead, dying and dangerous: the tree work exemptions
The old dead, dying or dangerous shorthand no longer describes the law. Here is what the exemptions from Tree Preservation Order control actually cover, what notice is required, and what evidence you will need if the council disagrees.
How a Tree Preservation Order is made and confirmed
A Tree Preservation Order takes effect the moment it is made and lasts six months unless confirmed. Here is how councils apply the amenity test, who gets served, and what grounds of objection actually carry weight.
Section 211 notices: six weeks in a conservation area
Trees in a conservation area are protected by a six-week notice rather than an application for consent. Here is what section 211 requires, which trees are excluded, and how to describe the works so the council does not reach for an order.
Applying to work on a tree with a preservation order
Works to a tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order need the council's written consent. The application is free and takes eight weeks, and most refusals come down to a vague description of the works rather than the tree itself.
No-dig construction over tree roots: how it works
No-dig construction builds up from existing ground level instead of excavating, so a driveway or path can sit inside a tree's root protection area. Here is how the build-up works and what the method statement has to say.
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.
Tree protection plans and the fencing specification
A tree protection plan is a site instruction disguised as a drawing. The fence line, the barrier specification and the retention period are the three things a tree officer checks on site.
Root protection areas: calculating and drawing the RPA
The root protection area is a stem diameter multiplied by twelve, turned into a circle, capped at 707 square metres. What happens after that calculation is where most schemes get into difficulty.
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