school trees

[Hodge]

I guess it depends on how soon the school need the work doing , the FC are not renowned for clearing these thing up quickly . As stated previously - speak to the LA who will make the decision as the whether or not they want you to apply to the FC

 

 

When I asked my LA about similar work they told me to contact the F/C.

[daltontrees]

Under section 1o6 of the town and country planning act it defines what is constituted as an open space ( an exemption within the FC felling licence requirements) sub section 2 clearly defines schools and other institutional playing fields as open spaces . The whole document is a very useful tool in out line of work and often can clarify a somewhat grey area . But granted there are times it doesn't

 

I can't find this reference in any of the Acts. Is that the 1990 Act and did you mean s106? That Act seems only to define “open space” for some Planning purposes as "any land laid out as a public garden, or used for the purposes of public recreation, or land which is a disused burial ground"

 

The exemption for felling licenses is for 'public open space', which I think is a different matter. The whole exemption is "felling of fruit trees or trees standing or growing on land comprised in an orchard, garden, churchyard or public open space". I don't think it entirely safe to assume that the definition from a Planning Act can be applied to the Forestry Act which is after all from 1967 and predates almost all current Planning legislation.

 

Even takign a plain view of it, are school grounds 'public' spaces? Yes the public go there but only for a specific purpose. Try randomly having a picnic in the grounds or walking your dog and you'll soon get chased.

 

Yeah, still too risky for me or my customers.

[daltontrees]

They might be interested if they were felled because they were dead/diseased/dying as this is an exemption. Other than that, yes, volume of timber is what they are interested in, BUT, only in a forest/woodland environment. If a school has grounds that are woodlands (as many do) FC would be interested, if they are part of a 'park' or driveway or such FC are not interested it would be a LA matter IMO.

 

For the record, the exemption is for "prevention of danger", the dead/diseased/dying is not an exemption. It was under the old Planning legislation for TPOs, but even that has been superseded by "dead" and "urgently necessary to remove an immediate risk of serious harm".

 

That's England anyway. Somewhat different rules in Scotland.

[combined tree services]

https://www.dorsetforyou.com/media/129815/Section-106-sports-and-open-space-definitions/pdf/Section_106_-_recreation_and_open_spaces_definitions.pdf

[skyhuck]

I guess it depends on how soon the school need the work doing , the FC are not renowned for clearing these thing up quickly . As stated previously - speak to the LA who will make the decision as the whether or not they want you to apply to the FC

 

Or they may just slap TPO's on them

[combined tree services]

Or they may just slap TPO's on them

 

Haha I'm not a betting man but I certainly would not fancy the odds on that

[Spruce Pirate]

For the record, the exemption is for "prevention of danger", the dead/diseased/dying is not an exemption. It was under the old Planning legislation for TPOs, but even that has been superseded by "dead" and "urgently necessary to remove an immediate risk of serious harm".

 

That's England anyway. Somewhat different rules in Scotland.

 

I think the wording of the exemption is "dangerous or to prevent a nuisance". You will go a long way before you meet a Woodland Officer who does not consider a dead/diseased/dying tree that does not fall into either of these categories! For one thing the FC very rarely stick their neck on the block and say something where there is a risk that they will be proved wrong - it is much easier for them to agree with an exemption than challenge it and have the tree fall (1-Civil Service always prefer route of least resistance and 2-They might be held liable or at least perceive that they could be held liable). Please note - I do not mean trees that have two dead branches can be considered as "dying", it has to be a genuine case of a tree on the edge of mortality and it is an extremely good idea to document and photograph this. Fundamentally you are right though, it might depend on how pedantic your local Woodland Officer is and how well you get on with them.

 

I'm still convinced the school grounds constitute a garden or other public open space and are exempt. Garden does not necessarily imply a domestic garden.

 

Hodge is right though, for the time and price of a phone call it would be well worth it.

[Ackworth Arborists]

Hi everyone. Just a quick update on the school trees it maybe of some interest. Spoke to FC they said the school is not exempt as it is not an open space as it cannot be accessed by the public like a park for instance. They were only interested in the stem timber as they disregard any branchwood. Luckily for me the stems are really short on the maple and are only 5ft tall which means with the DBH measurement don't equate to much. The limes are quite slim with not much trunk timber. So looks like I fall within the 5 cube per Calender quarter when I mentioned sizes to the FC

 

Hope this may help anyone else it hat finds themselves a little unsure of the situation.

[Spruce Pirate]

Hi everyone. Just a quick update on the school trees it maybe of some interest. Spoke to FC they said the school is not exempt as it is not an open space as it cannot be accessed by the public like a park for instance. They were only interested in the stem timber as they disregard any branchwood. Luckily for me the stems are really short on the maple and are only 5ft tall which means with the DBH measurement don't equate to much. The limes are quite slim with not much trunk timber. So looks like I fall within the 5 cube per Calender quarter when I mentioned sizes to the FC

 

Hope this may help anyone else it hat finds themselves a little unsure of the situation.

 

In that case, I stand corrected. Thanks for the update.

[daltontrees]

https://www.dorsetforyou.com/media/129815/Section-106-sports-and-open-space-definitions/pdf/Section_106_-_recreation_and_open_spaces_definitions.pdf

 

I see, it's in PPG17. It's saying that school playing fields may be of public value as open space when considering the supply of recreation facilities in an area.