Conservation Area Specifications

[Treerover]

Can anyone shed any light on what is the acceptable and legal way to specify the specification of a crown reduction?

I have just had a 211 notice returned as ‘Invalid’ after 3 weeks (🤬) post submission as the planning officer has asked for it to be specified in ‘metres to be removed ‘ rather than my submitted spec which was a 25% reduction to strong lateral growth .

I’ve never had this before .

Surely unless it states on the form that all measurements must be in metres , then my original submission must stand as valid ?

What does the panel think [emoji848]🧐

[jfc]

Can anyone shed any light on what is the acceptable and legal way to specify the specification of a crown reduction?
I have just had a 211 notice returned as ‘Invalid’ after 3 weeks (🤬) post submission as the planning officer has asked for it to be specified in ‘metres to be removed ‘ rather than my submitted spec which was a 25% reduction to strong lateral growth .
I’ve never had this before .
Surely unless it states on the form that all measurements must be in metres , then my original submission must stand as valid ?
What does the panel think [emoji848]🧐

I m basing this on scotland so may be slightly different.

With TPO trees I have had to specify size of branch to remove/prune. However with CA trees you can ask for whatever you want, the only option the TO has is to approve your work or put a Tpo on the tree. If the client is adamant on severe reduction I will ask for 30 or even 50% reductions, as the other option is a full removal, it's better to keep a tree than lose it completely. This is especially with low quality trees.
However, if I think the tree is possibly worthy of tpo I will be more conservative with my request, ie as per bs3998.

Bs3998 specifies that reductions should be more specific than a % reduction, and you should quantify length branches to be reduced by. Look up your 3998 reduction info.

All the best,

Jan.

[Anno]

Arb Association states - Crown reduction cuts should be as small as possible and in general not exceed 100mm diameter unless there is an overriding need to do so. Reductions should be specified by actual measurements, where possible, and reflect the finished result, but may also refer to lengths of parts to be removed to aid clarity, e.g. ‘crown reduce in height by 2.0m and lateral spread by 1.0m, all round, to finished crown dimensions of 18m in height by 11m in spread (all measurements approximate.)’. Not all species are suitable for this treatment and crown reduction should not be confused with ‘topping’, an indiscriminate and harmful treatment.

Most Tree Officers have moved away from the percentage game as, in my experience it can be misinterpreted at best, one mans 20% is anothers 60%.

IN terms of Trees in Conservation Areas it is my understanding that its a straight Yes you can, or no you cannot, which would then lead to the placing of a TPO.

 

Hope that helps, the caveat being this is in England.

[Anno]

Arboricultural Association - A brief guide to tree work terminology and definitions

WWW.TREES.ORG.UK

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A range of tree related help and advice for members of the public as well as tree surgeons.

 

 

[skyhuck]

5 minutes ago, Anno said:

IN terms of Trees in Conservation Areas it is my understanding that its a straight Yes you can, or no you cannot, which would then lead to the placing of a TPO.

 

Hope that helps, the caveat being this is in England.

They can't say no and then put the TPO on, they must put the TPO on within the six week window. The only thing that can stop the work is a TPO.

 

The notification does not need to be on a form, it simply needs to be written and understandable.

[Treerover]

They can't say no and then put the TPO on, they must put the TPO on within the six week window. The only thing that can stop the work is a TPO.
 
The notification does not need to be on a form, it simply needs to be written and understandable.

This has been my understanding but I’m just wondering whether anyone has a quotable example in law before I take issue with the tree officer .

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

In order to validate a TPO application, or CA notification (Sect. 211 notice) the proposed work has to be suitably described / specified and BS3998:2010 is the usual point of reference for such.

 

BS3998 states that ref. to percentages, without specifying either branch length to be removed, e.g. approx. 2.0m with final pruning cuts not exceeding 75mm, or crown reduce to finished dimensions of Xm high by Ym spread...and cuts not exceeding 75mm dia, as an example, is deemed to be imprecise and unsatisfactory

Extract:

NOTE 1 Specifications for a percentage reduction are imprecise and unsatisfactory without reference to length, height, spread etc. A 30% reduction in crown volume can be considered to be approximately equivalent to a 12% reduction in overall branch length (i.e. radial distance).

So, unless your notification has been formally registered, i.e. you've got a 6 week expiry date, I'd propose reviewing your description / specification and re-submitting...and I'd suggest this anyway.

 

Regards,

Paul 

 

[Paddy1000111]

From my limited experience (I've only done 3 applications), crown thinings in percentage, crown reductions in meters. It's good to put a range, say 1-1.5 meters or whatever spec you want/need to give the climber a bit of leeway to do the work. If you specify 1m and he cuts off 1.4 then it's out of spec so go for a range

[Ian C]

Can anyone shed any light on what is the acceptable and legal way to specify the specification of a crown reduction?
I have just had a 211 notice returned as ‘Invalid’ after 3 weeks (🤬) post submission as the planning officer has asked for it to be specified in ‘metres to be removed ‘ rather than my submitted spec which was a 25% reduction to strong lateral growth .
I’ve never had this before .
Surely unless it states on the form that all measurements must be in metres , then my original submission must stand as valid ?
What does the panel think [emoji848]🧐

Yes most councils want it in meters now simply because it’s much clearer and less open to interpretation.

[skyhuck]

1 hour ago, Paddy1000111 said:

From my limited experience (I've only done 3 applications), crown thinings in percentage, crown reductions in meters. It's good to put a range, say 1-1.5 meters or whatever spec you want/need to give the climber a bit of leeway to do the work. If you specify 1m and he cuts off 1.4 then it's out of spec so go for a range

If its a conservation area it's a "notification" not an application.