Nick Harrison

according to our planners, agreeing rm takes the process one step beyond outline planning, and almost, or more or less, full planning permission. whether this is or is not the case, why do the regs no make mention of rm's?

Our planner has said that once reserved matters have been agreed then it is more or less a full planning permission, i.e., it trumps any TPO. When looking thru the regs no mention is made of reserved matters, only outline planning or full planning, hence my question. There's no issue over the conditions or landscaping proposals, it's purely a legal question from the developer...do they still need to apply to carry out tree works even though they've had approval for outline planning and reserved matters. We as a collective in the office were unsure as the regs don't seem to make it crystal clear. Our feeling was that no app was required but wanted to get the general view from others, thanks for the feedback chaps

I know that full planning permission over rides a TPO but does anyone have any idea what the situation is when the outline planning has been agreed as well as the reserve matters? have had a look through the regs but can't seem to locate anything specific? thanks in advance nick

As the title suggests, anyone on here that is a LOLER inspector (or can recommend one) in the Hebden Bridge/Halifax area? Am new to the area and haven't yet met any local tree folk thanks Nick

Cheers fellas, will get on it!

Used to live not far from spud but he was always very busy I spoke to him, probably for good reason! Will try the chap in Clitheroe as not far from there, cheers ☺

Hi Can anybody recommend a reputable mechanic to repair a stihl saw in the Halifax/Bradford/Leeds area? Is a 361 that won't tick over right, have tried lots of things with no joy! Thanks Nick

I would never have considered that old rooting material could be the reason for the presence of Merip at the base of a beech. guess that's the advantage of having an air spade to hand to investigate. i'm sure most times Merip is found at the base of a tree the worst is feared...i assume given the low target you're not gonna worry too much about this one (is this on the west heath)?

As a whole, the absence of arboricultural input into the highest level of government policy and strategy is lacking, with little to filter down to regional and local level. The Arboricultural Officer or arboriculturist is identified as the 'tree man' with little understanding of what they bring to the table. Sorry I'm going off track, but as you said you benefit because the manager is arb qualified and understands the importance. i think this hits the nail on the head. i've only been a TO at a LA for just over a year and the above is already so clearly evident. there's plenty of qualified research out there extolling the benefits of the urban tree population but without backing from high up our industry seems to come bottom of the list as far as council budgets go. you've only to compare tree/open space budgets with highways or street lighting to see where we are in the pecking order. how we change this scenario is a completely different debate but i think central govt is where it's got to start. As a contractor, most people I meet view trees as a hindrance or a barrier to their objectives. Less protection would equal less trees. My pessamistic viewpoint is that the current protection of conservation areas, TPOs and planning conditions are failing. The legislation/regulations/means are there but the resources to effectively police and implement them are inadequate and ineffective. this too, from my experience, is so true. it's a sad state of affairs but we can only hope that recent efforts such as the i-tree eco project can help push our issues up the agenda. Lord Framlingham fighting our corner is a start but is it enough? no answers to offer, just chewing the fat

thanks Paul, will let you know

alas we don't have one.... not sure what a private consultant would charge per tree but may look into that option?

we had a tree failure last week in the high winds. as you'll see from the pics there's extensive decay in the root ball of this tree. canopy on the tree had been fine with no fruiting bodies to be found on site. the issue is that we have at least 3 other sycamores in a line with this one and resident is duly concerned as to whether the other trees are potentially in a hazardous condition. sounding hammer and close inspection of the base of the trees hasn't picked up anything. I was thinking about detection options, tree radar sprang to mind but not sure if that would pick up this type of decay. another option would be to hand dig around the base to see if any decay can be found, any one with a better suggestion?

yes pommie, do you recognise it?

forgot to say before but my comment of 'I reckon' was referring to me saying the brackets were big...I wasn't entirely focused on the cakes and coffees in those 2 years you know...

yep, I think location combined with the other issues mean it's a no brainer...brackets are on opposing sides of the stem which could have meant more chances of remaining standing I assume? will probably be back that way next week so will try to remember to get some more shots showing whole tree and location. on a separate note, wish mike well for me on his last day...bet there were some sore heads yesterday!!

main reason it's going is due to the subsidence...tree has been reduced quite severely over the years but the monitoring has shown that the movement returns again after a couple of seasons (has returned on 2 previous occasions). Any further reduction would have left nothing much more than a stick in the ground with the high probably that movement would return again....another consideration was that across the road, out of shot, is a busy park and tennis courts. Heave is always considered when taking mature trees out in subsidence cases but from the info I've gained via courses and speaking with loss adjusters, it's not that common. also for the above reasons, further reduction is unlikely to mitigate the problem as well as the safety issues with surrounding targets.

Found these big G.resinaceum's (or so i reckon) today on an Oak implicated in a subsidence case. made the decision to remove a bit easier. pics don't show it but the canopy had been severley reduced in the past but subsidence has returned on 2 occasions...Sounded the base which was like a drum...butresses sounded good but alas has to go

Trying to remember if these were the 2 on sandy heath? presumably there was nothing too alarming at the base hence just the 2 readings? Can't remember what the condition of the canopy was, was there any thoughts about using the drill elsewhere in the tree?

Out walking in pennines today and saw these amazing trees defying gravity

bet mike enjoyed that one...hows the rw2??

what a shame to lose it though, pics don't convey the shear size of the thing! any thoughts on creating some habitat nooks and crannies for the local wildlife? not sure if you got it where you are but at about 1pm we had a mini storm come through, thunder, lightening, hail stones, high winds...we had 5 trees down...i was out on site at the time, apparently back at the office the wind had knocked a seagull of course and it got it's neck stuck in a fork in one of the trees outside the council building, security had to help free it, so luckily the bird was the only casualty. our contractors reckon quite a few trees have come down in other boroughs, nothing your way?

hi David presummably it was the storms today that brought it down? did you manage to save the carved piece?

I thought they looked familiar 😉