Protestors Stopping Works? Who Pays?

[benedmonds]

What do folk do when protestors prevent works going on, who pays for it?  Delays caused to me have been rare and I have always had to take the hit, which I think is wrong.

We recently felled three trees and received a lot of abuse at one point had a group standing in the work area, stopping work.  Well I have another 6 trees to remove in a similar area and there are alot of folk who don't want it to happen. I can see their point but a wall needs to be replaced and the trees have to go.

 

It is so easy to post stuff onto facebook and the locals come rushing out with their pitchforks. Anyone who has been at the end of online attacks will know how unpleasant it gets with comments from armchair arborists saying "it looks fine to me.." and posting pictures of healthy stems but not the massive cavities..

 

I am thinking of insisting on a disruption clause, as if I have a big team with crane etc onsite it gets costly pretty quickly if someone is stood holding up the works.  Presumably this is normal operating procedure on HS2 sites.    

 

Please don't post, "just drop it on them, they will soon move" type answers. Save that for the Arbtalk Facebook Pages..  

Edited February 15, 2021 by benedmonds

[Rough Hewn]

Yup a clause in the contract sounds good. Get a decent litigation lawyer to write it up.
[emoji106]

[dig-dug-dan]

Did have some council residents that backed on to a new development trying to stop Mr removing a sycamore. Lots of abuse, shouting, but the threat from one guy of grabbing my rope and yanking me out of the tree was enough for the homeowner to call the police, who attended and advised that if that if that sort of threat was made again he would be arrested. While they were dealing with it, we cracked on. And a month later, planted a mature birch in its place

[Dan Maynard]

If you've got a crane on site then delays are expensive, maybe it's worth Heras fencing the area? Although it's not that hard to break in, maybe it would need a security firm as well.

Would client pay the extra? I guess the extra up front might be easier than charging them again if a second day of crane needed.

[richy_B]

I always include a downtime clause in quotes. It came about initially from repetitively being given the wrong keys for council sites but I've used it when we are waiting on other contractors. 'Hourly rate of £XX charged in 15 minute increments rounded up for downtime outside our specific control'. 

 

Clearly I can't charge it for getting caught in traffic but if we arrive at a site and cant get in because they have change the locks overnight we charge until it is resolved.    

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

It’d have to be written into the terms of the contract if there was a potential or real possibility of disruption - and costs accrued passed on to site owner / main contractor. 
 

Only experienced something similar once....

 

Site clearance for a development which wasn’t popular with neighbouring homeowners (whose estate was built about 10 years earlier!)

 

Ring leader was a JP who set about disrupting works. 
 

Works were over 2 consecutive weekends (but only because that suited several of the team members childcare arrangements)

 

His belief was that trees were being removed at weekend because there was no TO cover. 
 

Of course it was entirely ‘by the numbers’ - what did he think? Trees cut down ‘illegally’ would miraculously regrow by Monday morning?

 

He didn’t take kindly to being told that he was interfering with my lawful business and potentially committing a public order offence by interfering. 
 

But he did Foxtrot Oscar at the threat of inviting local constabulary attendance. 
 

 

[Paddy1000111]

100%, go for a clause for time lost through disruption even if it's to recoup your financial loss. This is (by the sounds of things) their site/land that should be secure. You aren't there to fend off the cannibals at their gate, nor should you be expected to incur a financial loss for their F***housery

[s o c]

We had to leave a job 3 times last year where the landowner was not happy with terms of CPO on strip of ground for new road junction.

he kept entering site despite court order.

we were subby to civils contractors who give us a lot of work and are always prompt to pay.

we had work nearby to go to each time we were stopped and lost very little time in reality but civils contractor insisted we got paid time for mobilising all equipment from home each time.

[donnk]

invoice the hire element (crane and kit) first and get that paid, puts the onus then on the customer.

[Khriss]

God, just reminded me of job in 2016 in Cambridge, got sent to Bellways site fr a clearance, sent off job thursday by TO  ( terms of site no felling until Sept - it was June) sent back friday to fell a nice Beech i had stripped out on thurs, get call off gaffer ' is that fecking beech down! Am am on way to Cambs magistrates to answer charges!' 😣 K

Edited April 26, 2021 by Khriss
( brown envelopes, lots of them)