an interesting one...

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Sounds good but the reality is that homeowners can't or won't keep paying out for advice. They employ a consultant at great expense and then the consultant says, this is my opinion but you will now need another expert with a picus to agree with me and by the way and additional £500 will be required, or maybe an appeal with no guarantee that my (consultant's) opinion will be agreed with..

 

 

Agreed - a fine cost / result balance is required when spending others money.

 

Maybe I make it all too 'personal' but if I'd received that decision notice I'd feel professionally and morally obliged to follow up (perhaps more realistically, pre-discuss positions with with TO prior to DN) what appears to be a fairly generic, unimaginative and lame brush-off DN based on less than compelling consultee input.

 

Perhaps that region isn't blessed with approachable, sensible and experienced TOs who have the time / resource to engage with applicants?

[oslac]

Agreed - a fine cost / result balance is required when spending others money.

 

Maybe I make it all too 'personal' but if I'd received that decision notice I'd feel professionally and morally obliged to follow up (perhaps more realistically, pre-discuss positions with with TO prior to DN) what appears to be a fairly generic, unimaginative and lame brush-off DN based on less than compelling consultee input.

 

Perhaps that region isn't blessed with approachable, sensible and experienced TOs who have the time / resource to engage with applicants?

 

Many TO's are (and I am treading on dangerous ground here) but not up to the job. I am an arb person but one of my other fiddles is that I am a Chartered Landscape Architect which is a good combination especially when it comes to trees/planning/construction/methodology. There are numerous times when the TO is responsible for the landscape element of planning applications and so I have the TO, telling me how to plant trees, my choice of shrub is wrong, maintenance is an issue, even commenting on my LVIA's, then I have TO's commenting on structural issues and so on. I took an arb degree a few years back and my dissertation was about the qualification level of TO's versus their decision making in relation to how much of an RPA they would allow to be built on (old BS). In general, the more academically educated the TO is, the closer was their spread of opinion. The lower their academic level, the wider their spread of opinion. Sounds obvious but then apply that to the real world and you have TO's giving out opinion which is wrong or uninformed or contradictory or emotional. This often adds delays and price rises to a project and makes the Consultant (in the eyes of the Client) look like they don't know what they are doing.

 

Give me an educated and experienced TO who has a pragmatic view of the world and keeps their emotions at home, sadly not enough of them about.

[Gary Prentice]

 

Give me an educated and experienced TO who has a pragmatic view of the world and keeps their emotions at home, sadly not enough of them about.

 

Here, here:biggrin:

 

One test that wasn't mentioned was a 'pull' test. I suspect that would have removed all opinion from the equation.

[Arctostaphylos uva-ursi]

Here, here:biggrin:

 

One test that wasn't mentioned was a 'pull' test. I suspect that would have removed all opinion from the equation.

 

That was my thinking too. Pull test or Motion Sensing.

[Treeation]

Is there actually a case here? Just wondering as no one fortunately got hurt and very minimal damage. Can you be sued for a near miss?

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Here, here:biggrin:

 

 

 

One test that wasn't mentioned was a 'pull' test. I suspect that would have removed all opinion from the equation.

 

 

Has anyone ever done a pull test?

 

I suggested it once for a row of trees bordering a playground where the muppet who installed the play equipment had run a wheel digger along one side of the trees.

 

The PC didn't take my advice on that occasion (pull test or fell & seek recompense from landscaper - turned out the "landscaper" was the partner of one of the councillors ✉️ 💷. Chairman was super keen to offset the costs back to the landscaper until the dodgy deal came to light)

 

They're riding their luck in my opinion but I'll be the first in the queue with background evidence when the 💩hits the AC.

[Gary Prentice]

Is there actually a case here? Just wondering as no one fortunately got hurt and very minimal damage. Can you be sued for a near miss?

 

Damage caused, additional costs such as emergency call outs and rates, PTSD:biggrin: Once a lawyer's involved the sky's the limit:thumbdown:

[Gary Prentice]

Has anyone ever done a pull test?

 

I suggested it once for a row of trees bordering a playground where the muppet who installed the play equipment had run a wheel digger along one side of the trees.

 

The PC didn't take my advice on that occasion (pull test or fell & seek recompense from landscaper - turned out the "landscaper" was the partner of one of the councillors ✉️ 💷. Chairman was super keen to offset the costs back to the landscaper until the dodgy deal came to light)

 

They're riding their luck in my opinion but I'll be the first in the queue with background evidence when the 💩hits the AC.

 

I have:001_tongue: and Paul Melarange is involved with them. Not sure but I think Paul Muir from Treework Environmental Practice may be the only practitioner atm

 

Fascinating, and pretty damned conclusive testing.

[Arctostaphylos uva-ursi]

I have done pull tests in the past but we now use motion sensing.

[oslac]

I have:001_tongue: and Paul Melarange is involved with them. Not sure but I think Paul Muir from Treework Environmental Practice may be the only practitioner atm

 

Fascinating, and pretty damned conclusive testing.

 

If anyone has the kit and experience to do this, maybe a bit of CPD could be arranged as I would like to think there are a few consultants who would like to see a pull test in action. Ideally in or near Essex