Paul Barton

I think I backed that horse last year...not again! I heard about the horse 'according to pete' on the radio this week. Apparently he's owned by an old boy from yorkshire who still does a paper round. I'll back that one!

True, but there are already powers within the planning process that allow for that. I'm not sure that just because a BS says so, local authorities would suddenly take note and spend more on enforcement staff. Surely it's more a case of resources and TO's that are on the ball (or not). I do agree that this area is the primary problem of the process though. I went to a site yesterday where the LA planners had really put me through my paces in terms of detailed method statements. I was saddened to see that the client (who had done his best impression of someone that liked trees) had not put up any tree protection at all. There is a particularly fine tree on site which I awarded an 'A' category to which is rare...with rubble, skips and vehicles all around the stem. I decided I am going to write to the LA and plead with them to start conditioning site supervision (not breaking any client confidentiality of course).

Good word! clump - Wiktionary More than a couple but less than alot? Is a clump bigger or smaller than a cluster?

I forgot to say: the download from the BSI site isn't working properly yet so it may be best to wait a few days til they fix the link. Otherwise you can go ahead and pay now and they will email you a copy until the website is working properly.

The updated version of BS5837 was released today. You can buy a copy at BS 5837:2012 - Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction. Recommendations ? BSI British Standards for half price until the end of May. Unfortunately it's still a whacking £89! Once I have had a chance to read it I'l post some comments here - feel free to join in so we all know what the changes are.

You should ask them for a list of operations to assign your rates to - it's how most tenders work. Be careful to ask for clarification on any ambiguous specs and perhaps add a caveat or minimum hourly/daily rate for items which aren't on the list.

Happy Birthday rob! Florida eh? Hope you're having a great time.

Just tried to pre-order an HTC one s from Tesco - a good deal on o2. Bloody site wouldn't complete my order though!

I guess that's a no?! I hope its as good as John Roberts says it is but it concerns me that nobody on here has talked about it being any good. Maybe we're all missing out?!

Brilliant! That will be straight in my next report!

Wow! Best wishes for a good result Bob.

Hi Sloth, I am neither a Reg. Con (AA) or Chartered Arb (ICF) but am planning to be! The AA Reg Con scheme is currently undergoing some changes which should improve it alot. A new, easier to understand (hopefully!) information and application pack is being designed at the moment, and the criteria for assessment will become much clearer. The AA Reg Con directory is populated by some of the best and most well known names in our industry so it must have some value - at a minimum just being in it associates you with the best in class! However, the list hasn't changed much over the last few years and it has a perception of an old boys club which the AA are trying to change. I gather that some clients only approach AA Reg Cons, especially for expert witness work - so it has some commercial value. However, it is an expensive scheme to stay on as the annual fees are quite high. The major difference between them is that the ICF holds the charter for Arboriculture. To my mind, this gives the ICF a significant edge. If arbs want to have influence in a sphere dominated by architects, town planners, building surveyors etc then they need an equal footing. All these other industries have 'chartered' members rather than 'registered' consultants accredited by a fairly obscure organisation. I think the AA scheme may still hold more kudos though - from what I have seen the route to becoming an AA Reg Con is very tough, probably tougher than for the Chartered Arb. However, the chartered arb does require evidence of thousands of hours of work experience plus more formal assessment so it's also pretty rigorous. I am attending a workshop on Thursday about how to work towards Chartership (good idea by the ICF to have a workshop) so I'll let you know if I find out much more.

Nice job Matt.

Which local authority are you in? Most LAs have maps or lists of Conservation areas on their websites. I know that they have to make TPOs available for public viewing so I would expect a similar right to access for CA's too.

Thanks Steve. What kind of stuff is confusing?

I had a Mac mini for a few years but I found it got slower and slower and I never got on with the operating system. By comparison I have had this laptop (a £450 Toshiba) for 5 years now and it still works well. Personally I couldn't justify spending double that on a Macbook. I've had an Iphone 3GS for 2 years now too - I use it all the time and it is really really handy. It has had episodes of crashing mid-call though, so it ain't perfect. I'm going to try an HTC next time.

Check out this guy for a tree free-climber: My Own Hands on Vimeo He's obviously really good but the trained pro in me kept wincing when watching the video...waiting for a branch to snap! I guess it's like any free climbing (or soloing!) - you need to make your own judgements on the terrain.

I caught two blokes red-handed at our yard when I left late one evening! Apparently they only get about £40 for them.

You've obviously got some guts! Be careful they don't get the better of you.

A friend of mine is the only person to have ever interviewed Josef Kony. You can see part of the interview here: Sam Farmar

He has just given you the TPO reference number - which doesn't help you much really. Write back and ask him which trees are included. Try and get a copy of the plan too.

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/trees-law/41105-new-2012-tpo-regs.html

Hi all, I have a site near Barry that I need a sub-contractor to carry out some small tree surgery works at. Please email me at [email protected] for the details. I will require copies of your PL and EL insurances before I can award any work. If you are AAAC/CHAS all the better. Paul

Received my guide today - thanks very much SOW!