JaySmith

Probably not the best bit for planting having a tree that close to drainage when it looks as though it could have been planted in a different location. It is often accepted that tree roots cannot penetrate drains are fully serviceable and intact, however if there are small cracks or fractures roots will often enter and exploit the new water source which is not what you want unless you are friendly with your local drainage contractor. This will potentially lead to issues down the line. If it were me I would remove the tree due to the proximity to the drains and the house and replant something else where on the property. I struggle to see the long term viability of a tree like that with the conflicting landscape features.

Regional variations will always be there. For Kent where I am, for guys on the books I think you would be looking at something like this: Groundie who can use chipper and saw, limited experience - £80 - £100 a day Competent Groundie/2nd climber aerial rescue - £95 - £110 a day Good climber who can undertake a wide range of duties and also do large trees - £110 - £130 a day Top draw climber/team leader who can do pretty much everything like crane work, run large jobs, other skills such as fix machines etc - £130 - £160 a day. I know of guys subbing who are charging between £160 and £200 per day. Obviously there will be exceptions to this but this is just a snap shot and based on three firms in my immediate area.

It’s ok but personally I don’t think it’s a great shape. Too hard on the 10 and 2 o clock areas if looking at a clock face. Not enough curve for me, the top left is higher than the centre point and bottom right sticks out too far. However that being said certainly not as bad as some you see for sure.

What happened then?

Not sure what authority the local council has to tell the highways authority not to cut back growth. The highways authority has a duty of care to manage its tree stock and this includes regrow the as was outlined in Chapman v Barking and Dagenham. If there is foreseeable risk and likelihood of failure then the highways authority would need to act to mitigate the risk.

I’ve always maintained that some of the best consultants and tree officers are ex climbers as they have worked trees and potentially understand them in ways that you cannot learn from books or a course such as L4 HND. However as you have a significant amount of industry experience will be of great advantage and also your work as a surveyor will give you a good underlying knowledge base, without you even knowing it. The PTI is hard, but then it is designed to be that way. Some of the CS tickets are given out like sweeties at Xmas but the PTI is far more demanding and you have to show a far deeper understanding. When I did mine I read up on VTA techniques, P&D, decay fungi and how to input data and different peoples approach to recording the data. In the age of the internet have a look at other peoples methods and examples or reports. Hopefully you will already have a consistent and comprehensive inspection method that you use currently so just practice, practice. Don’t forget the course is taught and not just an exam so you will have 2/3 days of expert tuition, don’t expect it to be a walk in the park but I think you’ll see you are well equipped with your previous industry experience. Good luck with it, delivered correctly it is a great course and can open many doors.

I’m not sure about the Southampton area I’m afraid but in Kent / SE London a climber with tickets and little to no experience would be between £85 - £105 a day on the books. Top end if they can do groundie duties like felling, trimming, running the rigging ropes and dealing with customers. As you get more confident and productive this should rise accordingly

I remember some time ago trying to find an answer to this very question but drew a blank. I guess there has never been a case brought to caught for the judge to rule on as the clear up aspect of the case would be relatively small (compared to day a compensation claim for flattening a car, damaging a house or injuring somebody). It would surely be the neighbourly thing to do to pay for the clear up if your tree fell into neighbouring land, however as we know not all people are that considerate!

Bottom one looks like pop and the stuff in the van possibly ash

Where abouts are you in Kent@matchu?

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Probably used for the firewood, yes. Used to have a large chestnut supplier a couple of miles down the road but he closed down a few years ago as there just wasn’t the uptake for the products any more which was a shame as he had just spent a fortune updating his kit. I’ve no idea what a fencing supplier would pay for example.

I saw some chestnut in Kent being advertised at £50 per tonne at roadside last year.

Nothing to stop you going into a technical role from a standing start but it won’t be as easy as somebody coming off the tools such as a climber or team leader who will have years of knowledge. The path I would take would be to do your Level 2 in Arb, this can be done online or via set days at college. This could take between six months and a year and will cover the basics of tree biology, risk management, soils, species selection etc. I’d be doing other reading in the background, absorbing as much info as possible. Start to learn about visual tree inspection and how and what it is. A one day tree inspection course would help but you will want to go into it with some basic knowledge to get the most out of it. The Level 2 could get you in at an LA or a junior surveyor role in a private firm. The pay won’t be great but will show you have commitment and get in the door. After this you would need to look at Level 4 in Arb and maybe PTI once you have the experience. If you get in at an LA they may pay towards these. I know of one LA (too far from you) that is paying for candidates to do L2 and L4 because of the shortage of staff. Personally I think it will be hard to start from scratch and get into a technical role, but not unachievable. A lot of guys go into tree officer or consultancy roles when they can’t or don’t want to climb anymore, they then have years of transferable skills. If you have the appetite for learning and are prepared to work hard then anything is possible. Ask plenty of questions on here as there is a wealth of knowledge. Best of luck

If you put some clearer pics up that may help with ID. Alternatively Alice Holt did do fungi testing. I used them to test some Phaeolus once as the TO wanted it done to lift the TPO. I think I paid £12 but that was a long time ago

That’s true, however in some areas such as Kent there is a big shortage of staff and there has been for many years now. This is partly due to the fact that one local college isn’t offering Arb so the local guys aren’t going through the college, instead they are choosing other avenues. Some don’t want to do into arb as let’s be honest it’s hard work and the money Vs other trades isn’t great. Also with the introduction of cheap finance it means that people can set up on their own easily now and not have to stay employed. However the big contractors who do larger contracts can’t get staff, it has been this way for a long period of time. Will this change if and when the domestic market slows up, maybe but we’ve been saying this for years now and it hasn’t slowed up. I think the smaller one man bands may struggle and it may force some of these and the freelance guys to go back to the larger contractors like G&T, City Sub etc. This is just my view speaking with others in the area. A lot depends on where you are located, think the OP is in London which will always be buoyant.

Difficult to tell from the pic but poss Perenniporia fraxinea which is very similar to Rigidoporus. 3 different answers and all possible!

Before you start to spend money on courses I’d try and get some days labouring with a firm to see if your back stands up to it. Courses are expensive and you could easily spend upwards of £2500 getting your tickets and then finding out your back won’t tolerate the work. I worked with a guy last year who spent £4000 on courses and lasted 6 months. You can get come work with a firm without having the tickets under the supervision of qualified guys, if it is for you then you could go down the routes of getting your CS30, 31 etc. If the practical side isn’t for you then you could always do the theoretical qualifications and go down the route of tree inspector/tree officer, although IMO the best inspectors and TO’s are often climbers who’ve been there and done it. However that way you will still be out and about looking at trees etc. The thing with Arb is there are many different avenues to take and with the skill/employee shortage that there is probably a good time to get into it. Age may play a part but if you are physically fit like you say then I work with people in their 40’s who make lads half their age look silly. A guy who used to be on here gave me a few days years ago when I started out so you just need a break. I may have an old used pair of leggings (size small) if you need some let me know to save you spending lots of money before deciding if it is for you. Good luck

Same, I’m only 5ft 7 and I’ve had the carbon geckos for about 10yrs and they fit like a dream with no foot or leg pain even for longer periods of time

Sorry Kevin, it says link broken when I click on it?

Firstly I must confess that I haven’t read the thread from start to finish - but will shortly. From my quick cursory view you seemed to be a fan of CAVAT but that now seems to have dropped, why is that? (Sorry is you have covered this in detail already). Is it because LA’s are getting large sums of money for trees that potentially lack the value? Let’s be honest you will either be a fan of CAVAT or not depending on what side of the fence that you sit. If you are in the LA (which I know you have significant experience of) you will value CAVAT even if dare I say it ‘bigs up a tree value’. A very well known and hugely respected consultant said to me once that your main responsibility is to your insurers and your second is to your client - said in the context of private consultancy. If you work for an LA then your primary concern should still be to protect the liability against the insurer but also to your asset and then the tax payers money that you use and how you use it.

I made reference to Flex in a previous post and have seen some good results. Looked at some London Plane’s last year, one had better vigour, less small deadwood and I would say healthier overall leaf coverage compared to the other one that had been repeatedly patched with tarmac. For clarity both were obviously the same species, similar in age if not the same and located upon the same suburban residential street. I’m going to return in the Summer so I’ll get some pics for reference. Overall if a tarmac patch is replaced twice or three times in five years (not inconceivable in the urban environment ) then the cost of the Flexi pave becomes attractive overall, not to mention the potential health benefits and long term viability of the tree.

Yes for public highway, the OP was saying that she doesn’t have any budget for planting. Compensation/mitigation for removal may provide funds for planting is what I was getting at

Maybe not the best phase but you know what I mean as in compensation due for loss of asset

If a developer removes your trees to facilitate development then should the owner not be compensated?