What would you do???

[Mesterh]

Didnt someone get a slapping because they removed dead wood from a tpo tree which was deemed as destroying habitat?

 

Was in a thread on here but dunno where or when:confused1:

 

I may have made it up, how should I know?

[Frank]

Ring the TO, state the 3 D's, leave the ball in their court????

[Doug Blease]

Skyhuck, you seem to take a very hard line with the LA? Treat em mean keep em keen?

 

In the past, having made applications in a range of authority areas, I have found it best to fill out the application with the reason being damaged trees.

 

But before you send it in, ring the TO and tell him/her that your sending in an application for removal of a potential hazard tree. Include a covering letter with your preffered intention and photos. This keeps your relationship with the LA healthy. Work WITH them, not against them.

 

If you feel the trees are really on the brink of going over, is it possible to cordon off the target area? You could put a small information board up to explain the problem to the general public, at the same time advertising your contact details and professionalism?

[skyhuck]

Skyhuck, you seem to take a very hard line with the LA? Treat em mean keep em keen?

 

 

In my local area the TO is great, meets me on site etc.

 

The HC was in another area who a bit of PITA.

[Doug Blease]

I bet you are their worst nightmare

[skyhuck]

How so???

[treequip]

Didnt someone get a slapping because they removed dead wood from a tpo tree which was deemed as destroying habitat?

 

Was in a thread on here but dunno where or when:confused1:

 

I may have made it up, how should I know?

 

I don’t see how that could be, the TPO is there to protect amenity not habitat and a duty of care would trump the TPO in any case.

[ScottF]

You do not need permission to remove dead wood.

 

The way I'd read the Guide is that you have to go through the same 5-day notification process to remove dead wood as you do to fell a tree under DDD, but the language is admittedly pretty ambiguous. It says:

 

"6.2 The LPA's consent is not required for cutting down or carrying out work on trees which are dead or dying or have become dangerous. In the Secretary of State's view, this exemption allows the removal of dead wood from a tree or the removal of dangerous branches from an otherwise sound tree."

 

This to me suggests that notification is still required for dead wood removal as well as felling. I suppose another way of reading it is that neither felling or deadwooding require any permission until you read:

 

"6.6 Anyone proposing to cut down a tree under this exemption is advised to give the LPA five days' notice before carrying out the work, except in an emergency. Anyone who is not sure whether the tree falls within the exemption is advised to obtain the advice of an arboriculturist."

 

Then again, the language is pretty vague- I mean what does "advised" mean in this context? It's pretty fuzzy.

There's also the point that you'd still be subject to potentially having to prove that the limb was dead if the TO thought (for whatever reason) that the work shouldn't have been carried out. I know 95% of the time you wouldn't get pulled up on this, but like I said above, I find implementation even in neighboring authorities, to be really patchy.

 

I personally always notify when I condemn a tree, usually in the form of a very brief report with pictures, which I often email in. Then it's on the record and you're covered. If you're diligent like this then I find when you do have to call up the TO and report a tree which is really knackered and really dangerous, they view it in context and take it seriously.

[ScottF]

I don’t see how that could be, the TPO is there to protect amenity not habitat and a duty of care would trump the TPO in any case.

 

Again, from: Tree Preservation Orders: A Guide to the Law and Good Practice

 

"6.3 A dead or dying tree may provide a habitat for plants and wildlife protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Trees with hollows or crevices, for example, provide important natural roost sites for many bat species covered by the 1981 Act. Anyone proposing to carry out work on a tree which is used as a roost for bats should first consult English Nature".

 

I've personally never seen this enforced after the fact, but I have been asked to supervise work with a bat licence holder to ensure the work was done as per a method statement involving lowering and inspecting all cut sections.

[ScottF]

In my local area the TO is great, meets me on site etc.

 

The HC was in another area who a bit of PITA.

 

Just figured out what a PITA is.