daltontrees

Who's 'we'?

I asked a soil scientist about adding ash to soil, he said to do it very sparingly. I think it's quite harsh. Excessive alkalinity can inhibit the uptake of other mineral nutrients.

Correct on the chemistry there. Quicklime is nasty stuff. Slaked lime is more stable but eventually alters to calcite. Slaked lime is used for lime mortar. Probably the best way to manage soil pH with Calcium in the long-term is the addition of crushed limestone. I can't imagine quicklime being cost-effective, since its production uses a lot of fuel and its addition to soil might kill just about everything (worms, bacteria etc.).

2 alternative explanations. Could have been a surface runner. Or could have been a shallow root but ground has subsequently been reduced in level. I have seen something like it before in poplar which had had a foot of woodchip dumped at the base, had had suckering roots into the chip and then the chip had rotted away.

The RA should be short. 2 key elements are 1. deal with 99% of tehrisks by specifying that only competent people are used. 2. Deal with the other 1% by checking for unusual risks and specifying control measures. If the workforce is competent the 1% can fit on one page and the workforce can be involved in completing it.

'rams' stands for Risk Assessment and Method Statement. Sometimes hard to tell apart, hence often done together since the client/customer is usually concerned mosty with covering their arse in the event of the contractor screwing up. Tiresome and tedious, and if they never get shared with the workforce they are almost pointless. First one takes hours, second one takes 1/2 hour, 3rd 10 minutes of filling in blanks and deleting irrelevant clauses.

So no-one can possibly have won? Demand a re-match.

The tree is only a problem if it is a risk. Or offensive to the eye. Otherwise it is and will incresingly be good habitat for bug and birds. A good topping mught leave it safe for a few years, but will accelerate its decline, even if it appears to reinvigrate it temporarily. It might then be possible to leave it to disintegrate slowly and safely. Might be an idea to plant a replacement (I suggest Claret Ash) behind it to get it established for the future.

Agreed. I won't be helping him/her next time.

done

I have already covered this, compliance with a statutory requirement (condemnation by the Council and an order to fell them) is an exemption. It is not necessary also to prove risk. But even if it had to be proven, the legislation merely says "prevention of danger". It could be said to mean immediate danger but it could also just mean 'danger'. It could mean slight danger or serious danger. It could mean danger to property or danger to people. Contrast that with the Scottish legislation which says "necessary for the prevention of immediate danger to persons or to property,". I expect that's what FC wishes it says in England.

The Council can order works under Highways Act, it qualifies the works for exemption under the Forestry Act 1967. Joined up.

The law on this is clear once you know about it. You do not need a felling license for felling trees "in compliance with any obligation imposed by or under an Act of Parliament...". That would include road safety legislation. Get something in writing, anything, from the Council that says the trees have to go, and keep a copy. Then fell them. Do not apply for a license. Do not wait. There are addiitonal exemptions for "the prevention of danger" and for "the felling of any tree of the genus Ulmus which is affected by the disease in elms caused by the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi and commonly known as Dutch elm disease to such an extent that the greater part of the crown of the tree is dead". Again no license is required. All this assumes you are in England and Wales. Different law in Scotland. Very different in Ireland.

I have sent you a PM on a related matter

The law expects some toleration of encroachment and minor nuisance (see Fearn v Tate Gallery if you want to overdose on legalese) but you cant acquiesce to it.