Approaching Highways England regarding felling work

[Big J]

22 minutes ago, dumper said:

Are you doing it for the timber or going to charge, I would try to find local contact and have a chat first, the paper work will be interesting you will also need a highways card on top of your cscs, cpcs,forestry tickets, chainsaw tickets, site management ticket,first aid ticket . Traffic management ticket, main contractor insurance and card this is before you sub any work out to subbies  with most of the above. Will it be worth the hassle?

the highway card is two days training for EVERYONE who enters the site 

Probably not worth the effort if all of that is required. There is theoretically no need to access the site through any Highways Agency land, no any need to shut any roads. Possibly viable doing it for the timber, depending on method. 

 

We all the normal forestry tickets and insurances but no CSCS, CPCS or site management tickets.

[The avantgardener]

39 minutes ago, Big J said:

CSCS, CPCS or site management tickets.

Why would you need CSCS CPCS if you are working in a private woodland that just happens to border a road?

I work in woodlands all the time like this and don’t require them, and what the hell is a site management ticket?

Never needed one of them either and I am pretty sure I won’t be arrested in the woods for not having one any time soon.

[Big J]

4 minutes ago, The avantgardener said:

Why would you need CSCS CPCS if you are working in a private woodland that just happens to border a road?

I work in woodlands all the time like this and don’t require them, and what the hell is a site management ticket?

Never needed one of them either and I am pretty sure I won’t be arrested in the woods for not having one any time soon.

It's owned by Highways England, but access to the site is through tunnels under one of the main roads and then via a farm field. I wouldn't have to come onto any of the roads bordering the site. The site itself is completely flat and unchallenging, but for the river separating off one of the lines of poplar. My thoughts with those would be to winch into the stand and over the river.

[dumper]

To work for highways England as I do you will have to comply with all of the regulations that apply to civil construction as well as forestry and tree surgery, until they need you more than you need them then it goes out the window 

have a off the record chat before jumpin in 

[Big J]

28 minutes ago, dumper said:

To work for highways England as I do you will have to comply with all of the regulations that apply to civil construction as well as forestry and tree surgery, until they need you more than you need them then it goes out the window 

have a off the record chat before jumpin in 

That's what I'm hoping to get. Just want to pick their brains about their plan for the block.

 

Thanks for your imput. Most helpful 

[devon TWiG]

I think Thulborns do all highway work in this area ...A 38 .. A30 etc   poor buggers get some horrid jobs !!!  

[Big J]

Well I got an email back from them. They want to hear my proposals for the block. 

 

I must say that I wasn't sure I'd hear back from them. I replied with a fairly long proposal, outlining a couple of different approaches and explaining that with my machinery and skillset, we were well suited to undertaking the job.

 

The unknown for me is what kind of traffic management they'd insist on. The trees are 15-20 metres back from a motorway sliproad on one side and a touch closer on the other to a main road. I'd proposed 60-90 second stoppages of traffic in both directions only whilst the back cut was being done and the tree was being winched over. Gob cut and winch set up done with traffic flowing. 
 

Having not worked with Highways England, it's an unknown for me, but I'm keen to do the job. That said, I'm not pretty much booked up for 4-5 months, so I need to stop looking for work and get what's in my diary completed!