Can the LA make you fell a tree?

[Steve Bullman]

I was working for a regular customer today. They have a large corsican pine on their boundary, beautiful specimen, very healthy crown with no signs of decay or included/weak unions. The main trunk appears healthy with no signs of any fungi growing at the base. The tree does lean out towards the road.

Anyway, the customer had a letter from the council reading somewhere along the lines that a member of the public walked past the house and noticed the tree looked dangerous and reported it, the council then asked "when" they were having the tree down?

 

The customer is worried as they really dont want to lose the tree. I advised that the tree was healthy and other than the lean towards the road could see no imminent danger. Can the local council make them fell this tree? Obviously i explained to them now the tree has been raised as a danger and they've been told about it they are liable, also no consultant is going to tell them its safe these days.

 

your thoughts?

[Pete Mctree]

size, location and species are sufficient to deam a tree dangerous in some cases, so it does not suprise me

[vduben]

if its on a boundary then does that mean its in no mans land of is it in their garden?

ive had experiences with the council bein the first to try and get the closest occupier to pay rather than them

[Steve Bullman]

its the clients tree

[Mr Ed]

What Pete said.

If however, the tree has no visible defects, and is healthy, then even if a freak wind blew it over, they could not be prosecuted for negligence. (I think!)

[vduben]

is it the same grounds like when the farmers get served notice on the manky ash's in there fields on road sides???

but then again they are visably dangerous with ionotice(cant spell) brackets present

[Quickthorn]

The LA might be able to invoke the Miscellaneous Provisions Act here. They give notice in writing that they want you to do such and such work by a certain date. If you fail to do it, they can bring in their own people and do it, then forward the bill to you. It's usually when something has been identified as a legal nuisance. Example: I raised a few crowns for a customer a few years back, because they'd had such a notice from the LA saying that they planned to run a new bus route along that road, and the lower branches of the trees would foul the tops of the buses. They were given a date by which to do the work, otherwise the council team would do it and submit a bill. (In fact, as far as I know, the new bus route never happened..)

[Amelanchier]

Not necessarily so. Depends on your tree officer and your council. We've got councils here currently arguing internally between departments about tree retention leading to utter comedy on the jobsite.

 

Leaning doesn't mean dangerous, in any assessment.

 

If a leaning tree is counted as dangerous then we must remove all leaning limbs, as they themselves often lean away from vertical more than the tree itself.

 

Misc. provisions is only used very rarely. round here at least and usually for really, REALLY crap hazard trees.

[toddster]

Does the lean present a risk in your view Steve?

[Steve Bullman]

i think its safe, but obviously with it being in the position it is im not going to categorically tell them its not going to go over! thats the problem