CA / Sect. 211 Notice

[Chris at eden]

Thanks Paul.

 

Hope you are well. Thanks for this. We were surprised to find through the surveyors report that there were no TPO's on any trees in that area given the fact that there are a large number of mature trees with amenity value. We weren't entirely surprised that we were asked to stop working there as it is probably the nicest street in the whole town and yet it seemed like no survey had been conducted. Or if it had, no TPO's had resulted from it.

 

 

Is a Local Planning Authority obliged to carry out tree surveys in order to protect such trees? Do they have any legal obligation with regard to due diligence or similar? I only ask because whenever we try to work in this area we can't get a straight answer from them.

 

Thanks mate, enjoy the weekend.

Timon

 

Hi Ti

 

It's difficult to make TPO's proactively in that way as unless the trees are under threat it would not be considered to be expedient to make a TPO. So no they don't have to survey and make TPO's proactively or more to the point, they can't.

 

Its not all the LPA's fault to be fair. A lot of tree surgeons will phone the LPA on the morning they are going to do the work to check as that way the LPA do not have time to make the orders. Remember they are duty bound to protect trees under threat if there removal would have a significant impact on the local environment. By phoning the LPA when they are up the tree the contractors deny them of the opportunity to do this.

 

I don't personally think it is too much to ask that the LPA get a couple of days notice before works are carried out. Its the only way the system will work. Whether or not you or I agree with it, that is the way it is intended to work. That said they should be asking you to submit an application for trees that are not protected.

 

Cheers

[TIMON]

Thanks Chris,

 

I understand what you are saying and it makes sense when you explain it like that.

We cover a large area and it seems to be a lot more black and white with other LPA's ; a quick phone call or look on the website is all it usually takes. The LPA in question is the only one we (try to) deal with where they won't tell us if a tree is TPO'd or not.

(We try to find out at the quote stage rather than ask on the day we start work )

[Gary Prentice]

Hi Ti, hope you're well.

 

 

 

The LPA should now survey the site quickly, and ideally prior to confirmation (6 months?) designating trees as individuals, groups and/or woodlands and this often results in some trees not being included in the amended TPO schedule.

 

 

Paul

 

But we all know that the reality is that a blanket Area Order will be served, everything will become protected and in thirty years time, no-one will have a clue what's what.

 

Sorry I'm cynical, but have spent an hour on the phone with a council regarding a potential site of ten acres. They can't tell me the age of the order, if it's a woodland or an old area order but gave me vague descriptions of different parts as 'consisting of 20 lime trees, predominantly sycamore, a number of oaks and ash. I can get a copy of the original order - if I write in and send a cheque - it's 2016 FFS!

 

I now have to meet the client tomorrow with no more information as to what can or can't be done, than I had before I spoke to the LA:sneaky2:

[TIMON]

But we all know that the reality is that a blanket Area Order will be served, everything will become protected and in thirty years time, no-one will have a clue what's what.

 

 

 

Sorry I'm cynical, but have spent an hour on the phone with a council regarding a potential site of ten acres. They can't tell me the age of the order, if it's a woodland or an old area order but gave me vague descriptions of different parts as 'consisting of 20 lime trees, predominantly sycamore, a number of oaks and ash. I can get a copy of the original order - if I write in and send a cheque - it's 2016 FFS!

 

 

 

I now have to meet the client tomorrow with no more information as to what can or can't be done, than I had before I spoke to the LA:sneaky2:

 

 

At least you still have your customer.

 

We lost ours over this, and with it lots of potential work on other developments.

 

[Gary Prentice]

At least you still have your customer.

 

We lost ours over this, and with it lots of potential work on other developments.

 

 

I can emphasise. I might lose this one yet because it doesn't bode well to be told the woodland is so dense no-one will know what you're doing in there anyway:sneaky2:

 

In reply to Chris' answer. We check everything with no fear of emergency orders because staffing levels are so low there's no-one to do it. But, if orders were put on after searches we'd re-think our practices.

 

Trees don't assume significant amenity value overnight so a well run authority by now should reasonably be able to assume that everything worth protection has, not rely on the contractor to ring alarm bells to do so.

 

Not a dig at you personally Chris, but we remove significant un-protected trees regularly, I don't like doing it but run a business and employ people. If the public were generally less selfish to their personal problems and undertook the view that trees benefit everyone so personal inconvenience should be tolerated, we'd need no orders. Many, or most don't, so protect everything and have a robust, efficient system in place to manage that. Oh for an ideal world.

 

I have no answers, but trying to be professional in this commercial business is hard -see my post in the members forum.

[Paul Barton]

I can get a copy of the original order - if I write in and send a cheque - it's 2016 FFS!

 

 

 

Oh no, I've been putting the wrong date on all my cheques then!

[Gary Prentice]

You're so pedantic Paul:biggrin:

 

By my calculations, if the working week is forty hours and taking into account the hours I'm working it must be the third of March 2016. If I do another hour in any one day, I'm likely to meet myself coming to work the next.

 

I did get one day off this week, I went to the AAAC introduction day.

[Paul Barton]

Oh dear. Sounds like you need a holiday or some more staff.

[Gary Prentice]

I'm having one soon, 20th September til the 23rd, sunny Warwick:thumbup1:

[Paul Jenks]

But we all know that the reality is that a blanket Area Order will be served, everything will become protected and in thirty years time, no-one will have a clue what's what.

 

Sorry I'm cynical, but have spent an hour on the phone with a council regarding a potential site of ten acres. They can't tell me the age of the order, if it's a woodland or an old area order but gave me vague descriptions of different parts as 'consisting of 20 lime trees, predominantly sycamore, a number of oaks and ash. I can get a copy of the original order - if I write in and send a cheque - it's 2016 FFS!

 

I now have to meet the client tomorrow with no more information as to what can or can't be done, than I had before I spoke to the LA:sneaky2:

Tpo data is a matter of public interest and therefore should be accessible via a freedom of information request. They do have 20 days to get it to you. It's free. At least, I've never had to pay. Be careful how you word the request and make sure you ask for all the supporting evidence for the application/serving of the tpo in the first instance