benedmonds

As Adrian said, there is already is a system in place that has been suitable for small (and large) traders for a number of years now... I am sure Paul will be on to promote the scheme, contact him and go along to an ArbAC Preparation Workshop. They are free I believe.

I probably should, but probably :blushing:won't get round to it...

I know its a bit different, but I have a loads of stuff that I should have sold 10-15 years ago that is now worth very little. Mostly toys including a, hang glider, paraglider, harnesses, parachutes, helmets, scuba gear, dry suits, wet suits, dive computers, crampons, ice axes, film cameras etc etc... All waiting just in-case... It's never going to be used, it's all out dated, most now not safe to use... and d bikes and bike bits.. wheels and forks and frames.... I really need a clear out.. I should of got rid years ago, when it went into storage it had value, now most of it is scrap...

Make you mind up- if they go for "silly money" second hand why won't he get his money back? The price of small plant is based on condition.. So assuming they are in a similar condition as to when he brought it it should sell for a similar price... and assuming he is willing to purchase used kit in a similar condition it should be a similar price in a few years if he needed to buy again. That's the theory, there is no point keeping anything easily available if your not going to use for more that 6 months as you can just buy it when you need it.. I however hoard everything...

It shouldn't really. Used stuff always available on ebay so while a slight risk of buying a dud stuff goes for market value. So you should be able to buy similar equipment for a similar price.. keep minimum. .

I did say some... TO's are all different and standards vary massively. When quoting works my advice varies from borough to borough... I know in some boroughs they basically have a blanket ban on reductions. So far I have had had the PIN overrule or come up with middle ground more times then not. But it's such a ball ache (takes months) appealing, and most clients are not keen to pay for it, when the outcome is unknown. I have recently decided to contest a few that I believe unreasonable at no additional cost to the client in an attempt to re-educate the overly protective TO's.

PINS inspectors often much more reasonable and often take a sensible approach. Some TO's are ..overly protective IMO

This has always annoyed me but after reading through the recent thread on council legal departments I would check if I have it right... A 211 notice is made for a tree in a conservation area notifying the council of works to take place after 6 weeks. During the 6 weeks the council TPO the tree. You therefore want to make an appeal. As I understand it you could either contest the TPO (I am not sure how this is done and might not be relevant if wanting to prune tree) or (and this is what I do) re-apply, using exactly the same form to undertake exactly the same works, when you know the outcome and wait another 6-8 weeks for them to formally refuse permission. Then you can go to the planning inspectorate who will take 27 weeks (according to their web site)but are more reasonable than many TO's.. Therefore 6+8+27 so it is the best part of a year before you get a decision..

Not sure. But not all day. Dave was onsite for 930 and sent me an email saying it was all done at 1530

I got Dave out to do the stump with his alpine.. Roots used as a retainer, customer very pleased. Cheers.

Very highly, its a beast... We liked it so much when we saw another come up for sale used we bought that, so have 2 now...The low profile tires are stupid..

Not sure it counts as an arb truck.. Had my mini subtly sign-written. It was interesting (to me) to look back at my quote vehicles over the last 13 years.. Mitsy Pinin, was a great little 4x4 useful for towing our little chipper off road, thirsty and rusted to bits. The Toyota, looked the part but had issues with the 4x4, thirsty and we got the 130 so didn't need the off road capability. The VW caddy was good for driving around pretty economical and could pull the small chipper and stump grinder if needed. As now I very rarely get my hands dirty and drive around allot, I wanted something fun to drive and economical that could squash my 4 kids in if needed. The mini fits the bill..

I was using someone (Island) to take the load of me, until he left for india.... So if you can do BS5837 AIA's or hazard surveys and can travel to the east midlands give me a call...

I highly rate our 6 ton Iveco (we have had one for 6 years).. Not so much the 3.5 ton ones (we have a crew cab and single cab).

To be honest it hasn't needed much in the three years we have had it but there was one occasion where it needed a relatively minor part for the exhaust and there was a considerable delay, over a week IIRC.. If it is your only work truck this would cause a head ache. The iveco's can nearly always get parts next day..

We have an old one. Way better truck then our old transits and 3.5 Iveco's. IMO. But parts can be an issue.

I always think about getting an alpine magnum but have never committed... Looks like hardwork..

Any novel ideas to get this sycamore stump out.. The garden is accessible from first floor only. Equipment could be lifted in over a balcony.

I have a client who wants to plant up the following area as a woodland garden. It is sheltered housing for people with mental illness. Advice and ideas welcome.. They have ordered a random bunch of small trees including 30-40cm scots pine (x3), 60-100cm weeping willow(x2), liquidamber (x3), rowan (x5), (120-150cm) lime x2 and copper beech (x2) and standard silver birch(x2)& norway maple (x2). Plus 100 hawthorn and 100 Blackthorn for the hedge.. Their vague plan is to cover with membrane and wood chip, have a couple of seating areas linked by paths.. Plant a hawthorn/blackthorn hedge along the fence. My current feeling is cancel the order and come up with a proper plan as it's all a bit random.. What would you do about soil amelioration? Would you try and de-compact. The soil is pretty rubbish with a lot of hard core but it seems free draining..

We have used a shape saw a couple of times on big horrible hedges.. great tool. Can do in a day what would take a week climbing easy.. Not the best pic but I got called away to deal with the complaining neighbours...

We came to the conclusion that you need a narrow access machine and at the time the HB20 was the best out there. The next size up were only a couple of HP more so while easier to operate were not much more capable. We therefore got a bigger grinder HB2150 xp to complement the HB20 which at 38hp is a much more capable machine. If I were to only have one however it would be the HB20 as it can grind any size stump if it needs to, whereas the bigger machine can't get to half our stumps (and cost 3x as much)..

My work load can also be huge.. and if a council doesn't reply to TPO apps or 211 notices it makes scheduling very difficult. Clients don't like waiting 8 weeks for the council to make a decision and then another 6 weeks to book the work in. They won't normally do pre-application meetings any more and some have very different views to me on what works are acceptable.. I put in applications I think are likely to be excepted and provisionally book them in the diary with an extra week. But I regularly get letters from one council at the end of 8 weeks saying they have not made a decision and I can appeal.. This can leave me with a big hole to fill in the diary at short notice. One council's TO, rarely replies to emails or answer the phone and only works part time. After phoning daily and leaving emails, I have resorted to telling them that we are planing on doing the work on such and such date. When run badly its a massive ball ache. .. A better council has a standard letter for 211 notices that says if you have not heard by x date carry on and I am sometimes shocked to get acceptance letter within a week.

I don't think you can just pass fines on to someone else... The council will pursue who they think is responsible or who they think they can punish.. If they are a sub contractor then they could be liable and there is no reason why they should not check. But as said before most subbie climbers are actually freelance employees, so it is the responsibility of the employer and tree owner..

This.. As Rover says most "subby climbers" are actually free lance employees. therefore the employer would be responsible. If however the subbie was a genuine sub contractor.. Has control over what is done, how it is done, when and where it is done and whether he or she does it personally. Then they could be held responsible.. Determining the correct employment status of a worker

Some good, some bad.. I think some would rather not do paperwork for a TPO and just try it on. While others don't know the difference. One of my pet hates is TO's who give or deny permission for works when I am only notifying them.