Council claim - does this tree suffer decay?

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Have an arboricultural consultant look at the tree, then look at the weather data for the day in question. Send your arb report and weather data in along with a claim for your extra costs. You should get what you are due.

 

It was not foseable, why do YOU feel the council are at fault in THIS?

[MATTMOSS]

They cant help it Tony - its the Council bashing cavalry! I think its sad that all these so called tree people dont actually think about trees in general and the overall picture.

Just felling merchants out to ake a quick buck. IMO

[Arctostaphylos uva-ursi]

All well and good, but the tree in my previous post that fell on a car was cleaned up, stump ground and all evidence got shut off the day after.

 

A consultant can't assess thin air

 

I agree. But with all due respect, I was referring to the OPs tree not yours and he has some very good photos documenting the incident.

The council is unlikely to be swayed by the ramblings of an internet forum but might just listen to an insurer backed with a professional report.

[felixthelogchopper]

They cant help it Tony - its the Council bashing cavalry! I think its sad that all these so called tree people dont actually think about trees in general and the overall picture.

Just felling merchants out to ake a quick buck. IMO

 

Sorry, do you mean me?

[MATTMOSS]

Not at all felix

[Mike Herts]

Thank you for the replies guys.

 

After reading the differing observations I understand that as the decay was internal it would have been difficult to spot any defects, therefore I now fully understand the wording of the council letter.

 

I will indeed call my insurers and let them handle this.

 

I do wonder though why the official advised me to call the claims dept, as I hadn't thought of this until he gave me their number.

 

And yes, Salisbury Road is correct Mr Holmes!

Edited June 26, 2012 by Mike Herts

[likeitorlumpit]

Thank you for the replies guys.

 

After reading the differing observations I understand that as the decay was internal it would have been difficult to spot any defects, therefore I now fully understand the wording of the council letter.

 

I will indeed call my insurers and let them handle this.

 

I do wonder though why the official advised me to call the claims dept, as I hadn't thought of this until he gave me their number.

 

And yes, Salisbury Road is correct Mr Holmes!

 

Referral fee:001_smile:

[Dean Lofthouse]

Nothing whatsoever to do with council bashing Matt, negligence is negligence whoever you are and some of the street trees i come across have blatant health issues and have never been inspected, many have even been reported and ignored

I really do hate with a vengeance the no win no fee culture but there is definitely blame sometimes

Some councils definitely need a kick up the backside

[MATTMOSS]

Nothing whatsoever to do with council bashing Matt, negligence is negligence whoever you are and some of the street trees i come across have blatant health issues and have never been inspected, many have even been reported and ignored

I really do hate with a vengeance the no win no fee culture but there is definitely blame sometimes

Some councils definitely need a kick up the backside

 

To be honest my comments weren't aimed at you either Dean, and I do agree with what you state above.

If someone reports a suspect tree to the Council and they dont act on it and then something happens, in that case there has been neglect and they are liable for damages.

But in this case, looking at the photos, which I deem to be quite good, My view is that this defect/rot pocket at that stage would not be visable under normal inspection routine.

And I would suggest that if the Council/owner in question has an inspection record for this tree of anything upto the last three years (depending on the number of trees they have to manage) Then I think they are blameless and have done everything they reasonably are expected to, to manage their tree stock responsibly.

As trees get older and bigger and are situated near high profile targets they may warrant more frequent detailed inspections, but this tree looks like a mature, generally healthy, small Highway tree- it wouldnt have set alarm bells ringing in my head.

All the blame and claim mentality is just pushing people to eliminate all risks in fear of being sued. As we know all trees carry some risk or another, but the benifits of trees far out weigh the risks.

I am sure that aswell as scheduled inspection routines, Councils do also rely on members of the public to bring tree issues to their attention, there is no harm in that, it is then upto the Council to act on this information promptly.