Driveway pulled up by roots

[paullen]

I had a customer today asking about pruning roots which are pulling up his driveway.

 

There are several large pine with TPOs alongside the tarmac driveway which have pushed up to the point you need a car with decent ground clearance to access his house.

 

What are the rules when replacing an existing driveway over TPO'd roots?

 

I told him he really needs to raise the level and use a root protection system like cellweb to protect the roots from compaction. He's reluctant to raise the levels.

 

Any ideas?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I think you have given good advice, i can understand him not wanting to raise levels, BUT at the end of the day these trees are protected for a reason!

 

could you retro fit structural cells maintaining the levels? at least for the most part?

 

This wou;ld mean air spading out the soil under the driveway and inserting cells that would provide a root soil volume free from compaction and a hard surface to drive on.

 

If his drive is block paved with a sand base this encourages roots to explore/exploit there, but the plus side is that these can easily be re adjusted to accomadate expanding root systems

 

Contact Andrew cowen at Rhizo ecology if you need some more help

[skyhuck]

If he relays the drive and damages the trees, he is liable.

 

TPO'd trees are protected against any damage, so your client has to repair his drive in away that will not harm the trees.

[Amelanchier]

Well theres two main angles here, the first is whether the LPA consider the resurfacing to be covered by Permitted Development rights - they may simply see it as a repair. The may be requirements for permeability if they don't.

 

Secondly, you may construct/repair a driveway within the RPA of a TPO tree - so long as you do no damage to its roots! This is going to be hard to measure and therefore hard to enforce but essentially undertaking any work (even to roots) without consent commits an offence and just blithely stripping the surface might be construed as wilful damage (relevant only to certain orders).

 

Even with a cellweb, secondary thickening of the roots will eventually crack a tarmacced surface.

[ScottF]

Could these trees be causing a nuisance (in the legal sense), and be exempted from the TPO?

From the guide:

 

"6.9 The LPA's consent is not required for cutting down or carrying out work on trees so far as may be necessary to prevent or abate a nuisance. The term 'nuisance' is used in a legal sense, not its ordinary everyday sense."

 

It seems to be that preventing access to an existing dwelling could certainly constitute a nuisance. If building up with a geoweb or similar solution were seen to be impractical, he may have a good reason to apply to have them felled under the exemption.

 

Discuss.

[armchairarborist]

apply for tree removal, unless they are really nice ones, if they are something special then modify driveway to suit,

[treequip]

Could these trees be causing a nuisance (in the legal sense), and be exempted from the TPO?

From the guide:

 

"6.9 The LPA's consent is not required for cutting down or carrying out work on trees so far as may be necessary to prevent or abate a nuisance. The term 'nuisance' is used in a legal sense, not its ordinary everyday sense."

 

It seems to be that preventing access to an existing dwelling could certainly constitute a nuisance. If building up with a geoweb or similar solution were seen to be impractical, he may have a good reason to apply to have them felled under the exemption.

 

Discuss.

 

This only works if the trees in question belong to a third party.

 

Legally you can’t cause yourself and actionable nuisance.

[Amelanchier]

This only works if the trees in question belong to a third party.

 

Legally you can’t cause yourself and actionable nuisance.

 

What he said. Nuisance in this sense refers to something that you could bring legal action (hence actionable) against - and even with the most expensive lawyers you can't take yourself to court!

[Bundle 2]

Classic...TPO's that cost the individual considerable money and time. I would have to hope they are worthy of the protection.

[educated arborist]

could you retro fit structural cells maintaining the levels? at least for the most part?

 

This wou;ld mean air spading out the soil under the driveway and inserting cells that would provide a root soil volume free from compaction and a hard surface to drive on.

 

If his drive is block paved with a sand base this encourages roots to explore/exploit there, but the plus side is that these can easily be re adjusted to accomadate expanding root systems

 

Contact Andrew cowen at Rhizo ecology if you need some more help

 

christ, would be intresting to try and retro fit cells! and the cost pfhhhh, i expect most people would sooner live with the change in drive level. The cells are a great design when planting but even then can you warrent the cost? they are way too expensive IMO i planted som EEEH standards in a car park last year & the cells worked out 10x more expensive than cellweb.