Sutton

Good Luck!

The worst justification I read was of three mature yews in a front garden which despite being healthy and vigorous would "benefit" from being heavily pruned. All three are failing now with rot. The word "benefit" suggests that without intervention trees wouldn't thrive. That bait-word (amongst others) may trigger the desired result? If such management speak can cut through red-tape with this then it certainly raises questions. None of us like jumping through hoops but I'm still hoping a TO or ex-TO will rise and gives us their take

Yep. Some randomly planted tree in a CA with poor form, badly situated, neglected or over pruned, can't be easily compared to fine specimens in well tended gardens, I agree, but we all have to submit to the same application process for works on all types and it doesn't make all trees the same - for the time being 🤣.

I was deliberately vague in asking my question on planning history and local character in the context of the origins behind TPOs. I phrased the above with "perhaps, probably". My hope is someone with more knowledge can say more beyond day-to-day regulation process and procedure. Yes, LAs must coher to national and local policy. Yes, they must demonstrate their line of reasoning within these bounds, whether clear and straight or circular and self-serving. And Yes, they sometimes fail. But I'm not asking about psychological motivation or poor decision making, I'm asking about something different. What it comes down to is simply that trees in conservation areas, urban settings etc set a tone, a theme, that give a place character. Our representatives should be above individual expressions of difference. What I'm talking about is community. It's not always true that private money instantly gives one impeccable taste and world-class judgment 🤣 just as it's not always right that one person gets to say what everyone else has to put up with. @Mick Dempsey believes a free-for-all laisez-faire would work in the UK for private gardens. When private individuals apply to have TPOs put on trees, then yes, there might be a case for reviewing such things through a planning sub-committee, but with Council cutbacks, that isn't going to happen is it?

You might be able to expand this out? Can anyone point us to some publications that put TPOs in private gardens out into a wider context for urban planning and green spaces. Or perhaps you have your own views? We need to understand why owning property doesn't necessarily qualify you to know what's best on how to keep it. Some of our more libertarian brethren here on AT obviously stir it for affect 🤣 which we all enjoy but a sense of history might be helpful. And this is about more than blindly following rules for fear of getting fined or having injuctions ruled against us. So, we know from history that reconstruction after WW2 was haphazard. Crap Towns - Wikipedia EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG In the later part of the 20th Century, construction firms and LAs were reported to collude on projects against the public's broader interests. We all have different tastes. Personally I prefer Brutalist architecture - Wikipedia EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG over Poundbury - Wikipedia EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG In short, say you don't like conforming to bureaucracy. Then you probably don't understand why it's important. The elites ignore the rules, why shouldn't we? This could help to start it off: All new developments must meet local standards of beauty, quality and design under new rules - GOV.UK WWW.GOV.UK Local communities will be at the heart of plans to make sure that new developments in their area are beautiful and well-designed.

What kw is it? Look at the regs re whether your stove needs fresh air intake specifically connected to outside the house.

Excellent refinement of terms. Pedantry is most welcome when it comes to the law!

I cant dispute common law nor CA regulation particularly as this is your specialty and you give sound advice for forum users all the time. Besides, I can't even differentiate between Kevin's subtle distinction of justice for the righteous and principled wealth because, to my mind, few would get legal aid on tree nuisance cases so seeking justice necessarily means you need a surplus of cash, balls, etc so that wealth and getting justice in the legal world of trees amounts to the same thing- as I say, I defer to those with the experienced expertise. That said, would it be fair to say the following: Loss of light from overhanging tree branches from a neighbour's garden or encroaching roots below ground from this hypothetical tree would be classed as a mere nuisance (you'll know the correct term). But when a nuisance becomes severe then complying with regulation and submitting to process can be ignored because any delay could make the situation worse. That is, I'm asking if time is the only factor that supports lawful abatement which sidesteps applications to the CA, where, for instance a branch is (evaluated by an expert witness with documentary evidence and) deemed an immediate risk and preventable action must be taken asap- i.e. get a tree surgeon to deal with it?

I was wondering if it was for that. As for the price, I would say ten years ago I would charge £50 per foot multiplied by its length of 20ft, then double that. But I've only ever sold through and through oak boards so might be well shorting today's realistic value a bit given the uniqueness of the log you milled, crazy timber prices and construction material shortage etc.

Did you finish your snooker clubhouse/den?

Reading the coquettishly teasing responses to yours suggest that their keeping their answers very firmly to themselves 🤣 Any normal person with a sense of fair play knows the answer to your question instinctively - as does you!

This doesn't help either: Construction materials shortage easing but prices up by 24% | Homebuilding WWW.HOMEBUILDING.CO.UK The construction materials shortage is improving but soaring prices and labour shortages could affect your project

So, in summary, a wealthy individual could prune a TPO without notifying the local TO, sidestep compliance, force it to court and then push the case for prevention of nuisance as trumping established regulation and, if successful, set a future precedent for LAs' affect on urban streetscape, conservation areas etc??? Dangerous grounds, m'lord! Shirley!🤣

As our resident rationalist, and given your well known views on our housing stock, how would you advise someone caught in Eggsie's dilemma? And remembering, bricks and mortar in the UK are "safe as houses" in times of trouble, lets try and be practicial? 🤣 He has to watch inflation, interest rates, the media mood for Liz Truss, the local economy and lord knopws what else. What does he do? (Only an irredeemable cynic would say he has to wait for the repossessions to start and scoup up something nice at a bargain price at auction)

Don't stop posting the moonbat/monbot/monbiot on here. I'm told it's good to see alternative views that Google would never offer the likes of I. It's taken you years to train the algorithms to feed you what you're interested in. You write well and give analysis. Unlike some here who leaflet litter any old Shiite 😂 @Mark J

Answer something on conspiracy theory for us. Once we wake up, look around and see what those in power are "conspiring" to plan, what do we do?

For a young family with an EU outlook agreed. In my youth we travelled round the EU many times and the US for 6 months. For the last six years we've had or teenage grand daughter living us so being on the edge of a vibrant but lowkey city is important. It doesn't mean we're dead to difference and variety. You wait till you get into late middle age 🤣

Come and get it? Bring your family, make a week of it, spend some hard earned Euros here in good old Blighty 🤣

French politics is not a pantomine like the UK. But then, I don't subscribe to the 5th Republic and haven't had a passport in over 25 years. Local issues are all that matter. Family, friends, landscape, culture. What can lowly citizens do about the Ukraine, currency traders, corporate greed and tax avoidance?

Heat dynamics? Internally hot and externally cooling rapidly means the steel looses integrity much quicker out in the open than say in the confined space of a bricked chimney. You'd just to have to have a carbon monoxide sensor nearby and be prepared to replace the flexi steel more often than you'd originally thought? Possibly 😅

Brexit is fait accomplis. I'm personally only interested in local politics (and non-corporate international economics) but was curious why you expats are bringing it up again, that's all.

What citizenship are you likely to have in the next year or so?

Our side business is growing meat to export. The french are one of the UK's biggest customers. They are a nationa of meat eaters and are still buying from us. A devalued pound means we make more here £ for lb and as long as we don't rely on too many imports that suits us.

To add to this "Winter is coming!", the long term forecasts can be useful in deciding how, with what and when: