What an arboricultural method statement must contain
A method statement is the written procedure for every activity near a retained tree, in order, with responsibilities attached. Officers refuse the ones that describe trees instead of naming who does what.
An arboricultural method statement exists to discharge one condition: the one on your permission that says no development shall take place until a method statement for the protection of retained trees, prepared in accordance with BS 5837:2012, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority. The arboricultural method statement content the officer is looking for is a sequence of operations with responsibilities attached, not a description of the trees. That description belongs in the tree survey you already submitted.
Most refusals to discharge come down to the same thing. The statement says what should be avoided, without saying who does what, in what order, and who checks.
What the statement is and what it sits alongside
BS 5837:2012 sets out three documents that work together. The tree survey records each tree, its condition and its retention category. The tree protection plan is a drawing showing retained trees, their root protection areas, the fencing line and the construction exclusion zone. The method statement is the written procedure for any activity that has to happen inside or near those areas.
The root protection area is the figure everything turns on. For a single-stem tree, BS 5837 sets it as the area of a circle with a radius of 12 times the stem diameter, capped at 707 square metres. That cap matters on mature trees, because without it the protection area on a large oak would swallow the site.
If you have not yet commissioned the survey, the Tree Survey and Arboricultural Impact Assessment page explains what it covers. The method statement is the stage after that, and it cannot be written until the construction method is known.
Sequence of operations and who carries them out
Write the statement as a numbered sequence that a site manager can follow, with the responsible party named against each step.
- Pre-start site meeting between the contractor, the project arboriculturist and, where the authority asks for it, the tree officer.
- Specified tree works, including any facilitation pruning, carried out to BS 3998 by a competent contractor before machinery arrives.
- Erection of protective fencing and installation of ground protection, inspected and photographed before any other activity.
- Demolition, with the method for structures inside a root protection area stated specifically.
- Service installation, with routes shown and trenchless methods identified where a route crosses a protection area.
- Substructure works, including any special foundation design.
- Hard surfacing within protection areas, with the no-dig build-up detailed.
- Removal of protection, final inspection and the works needed to leave the rooting environment in reasonable condition.
The order is not arbitrary. Fencing before demolition, not after. Tree works before the compound is set out, because a felling licence or a section 211 notice in a conservation area may add weeks. And the pre-start meeting first, because it is the point at which the contractor's real intentions surface.
Working inside root protection areas
Nothing should happen inside a root protection area unless the statement says so and explains why no alternative exists. Where work is unavoidable, three techniques cover most cases.
No-dig construction, where a permeable surface is built up above existing ground level on a cellular confinement system or a geotextile and granular layer, with no excavation below the interface. The detail has to show the total build-up depth, the edge restraint and how levels are reconciled with the surrounding site, because a no-dig path that needs a 200 millimetre step at each end will be re-designed on site by someone who is not an arboriculturist.
Special foundations, usually a pile and beam or a cantilevered slab, which take load past the rooting zone. These need the structural engineer and the arboriculturist to have agreed the actual pile positions, on a drawing, before the statement is submitted.
Trenchless service installation, by directional drilling or thrust boring, with entry and exit pits located outside the protection area. Where an open trench is unavoidable, hand digging with an arboriculturist present, and roots over a stated diameter retained and wrapped rather than cut.
Whatever the technique, the statement should say what happens if roots larger than expected are found, which is the contingency point covered below.
Fencing and ground protection specifications
Specify, do not describe. An officer cannot approve "suitable fencing".
The default protective barrier in BS 5837 is a framework of scaffold poles with weldmesh panels, around 2.3 metres high, braced and with uprights driven into the ground, carrying signs stating that it is a construction exclusion zone. Where a lighter barrier is proposed because the duration is short or the area is small, say so and justify it.
Ground protection depends on what will cross it. Pedestrian movement can be handled with scaffold boards on a compressible layer over a geotextile. Wheeled or tracked plant needs a proprietary system designed for the load, and the statement should name the product type and the loading it is rated for. Both need an edge that stops material migrating into the soil.
Two details are routinely forgotten and routinely enforced: the location of the site compound, material storage and any cement or concrete washout, all of which must sit outside every protection area, and the position of scaffolding, which has to be planned around branches rather than through them.
Supervision points and monitoring reports
Authorities increasingly condition arboricultural supervision, and a statement that offers it is easier to approve than one that does not.
Set out a schedule with named hold points: fencing inspection before works begin, inspection at the start of any operation inside a protection area, inspection during hand digging or trenchless installation, and a final inspection before fencing is removed. Each hold point should generate a short written record, sent to the tree officer within an agreed period.
Say who the arboriculturist is and what qualification they hold, and say who has authority to stop work. If the answer is nobody, the supervision schedule is decoration. Our note on discharging a tree protection condition without delay covers how to time the submission so that the schedule does not hold up a start on site.
Contingency for the unexpected
Every site finds something. The statement should already say what happens.
Cover at least these four cases. Roots found larger or shallower than assumed, with a threshold diameter above which work stops and the arboriculturist decides. Accidental damage to bark or branches, with a remedial procedure and a requirement to notify the authority. Unexpected ground conditions that make a no-dig build-up unworkable, with a route back to the authority for a variation. And tree failure or disease discovered during the works, which may need a separate application if the tree is protected.
A named contact with a phone number, available during working hours, is worth more than a page of procedure. Trees are damaged by people making a decision at four o'clock on a Friday with nobody to ask.
Where drainage runs are involved, the interaction between roots, soakaways and sewers deserves its own thought, and our piece on trees and drainage sets out the usual conflicts.
Sign off and the record you keep
Ask the authority to confirm discharge in writing, and keep the approval with the approved drawings. Then keep the monitoring reports, the photographs of the fencing on the day it went up, and the final inspection record.
That file does two jobs. If a neighbour complains that a tree has been damaged, it is the evidence that the approved method was followed. And where a protected tree is involved, damage can amount to an offence under the tree preservation legislation, with the burden of showing compliance falling on you.
One practical warning about cost. The method statement itself is a modest fee. The special foundations, the no-dig surfacing and the trenchless service runs it specifies are not, and they are often priced after the permission is granted. Ask the arboriculturist for the likely construction implications at design stage, so the budget carries them. The related exercise of writing a tree works specification a contractor can price properly is covered in our note on specifying crown work.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a suitably qualified arboriculturist before relying on it. Councils usually expect an arboricultural method statement to be prepared by a suitably qualified author, and professional review is strongly advised.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a tree survey and a method statement?
The survey records each tree, its condition and its retention category. The tree protection plan is the drawing showing root protection areas and the fencing line. The method statement is the written procedure for any activity inside or near those areas, and it cannot be written until the construction method is known.
How is a root protection area calculated?
For a single stem tree, BS 5837:2012 sets it as the area of a circle with a radius of 12 times the stem diameter, capped at 707 square metres. The cap matters on mature trees. The area may be reshaped where rooting is known to be constrained, but the total area must be maintained.
What fencing specification will the council accept?
Something specific. The default barrier in BS 5837:2012 is a braced scaffold framework with weldmesh panels around 2.3 metres high, with uprights driven into the ground and signs identifying a construction exclusion zone. A lighter barrier can be proposed where duration or area justifies it, but the justification has to be written down.
Does the council have to approve supervision by an arboriculturist?
Many authorities now condition it, and offering a supervision schedule makes a statement easier to approve. Set out named hold points, say who the arboriculturist is and what they are qualified in, state who can stop work, and commit to sending a short written record after each inspection.
What happens if roots are found where they were not expected?
The statement should already say. Set a threshold root diameter above which work stops, name the person who decides, and describe the remedial procedure for damage to roots, bark or branches. Include a route back to the authority where the approved method turns out to be unworkable on site.
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.