AA Teccie (Paul)

Ooops, that's not a good start then reason I did so is because it's often cited to me "by comparison." This was in no way intended to mislead people about the ARB Approved Scheme and it's standing / status, i.e. a voluntary, industry 'best practice' standard scheme as opposed to a legally required status = "Top Trumped" all round. So, can we start again with the above context defined? (didn't mean to spoil yer BH Cheers, Paul

PS Here are the forthcoming FREE workshop events http://www.trees.org.uk/Training-And-Events/Course?id=4064C348-E789-4DAF-8918-C5C29CE6050E an opportunity to find out more (and to qualify for 25% discount on the initial assessment fee if you come along...and apply for assessment within 3 months.) PPS I know I've smelt Affiliate wrong...deliberate of course Cheers, Paul

Hi all, I hope you're well and having / had a good BH Weekend, albeit very variable weather...still, what else would we talk about? How's about why you're not ARB Approved...if I may be so blunt? I guess the answer from many / most is because you don't have t'be yeah. However, I'm sure many of the many of you would welcome an equivalent CORGI / GAS Safe Scheme to differentiate your business, skills, knowledge and competencies etc. and get the recognition you rightly deserve. Well, currently, ARB Approved is the best option that goes someway to achieving this and whilst we have some fantastic contractors on the scheme ("thank you"), and yes some who are still "work in progress" (also thank you), there's plenty of scope for more. (REMEMBER there's probably never going to be a Government lead requirement to be approved / accredited as we're simply not a significant enough, nor hazardous enough (except to "our own") industry and unless Labour get in de-regulation will remain the order of the (Tory) day ) The other reason many contractors tell me they don't become ARB Approved is because there's too much paperwork involved. The reality is "yes" there is paperwork involved but the amount varies dependent on the size of the business and the type of work / contracts you undertake (since 2011 the 'amount' for small businesses has been significantly reduced and that's why those in the 1-5 people and 6-9 people categories now account for almost 2/3rds of the 300 or so ARB Approved Contractors nationally.) The 'Affiliate Contractor Member' is an assessed (desk-top) membership category that goes 25-30% of the way towards ARB Approval and hence acts as a "stepping stone" guided and supported by us.(Cost is £250+VAT per year and this includes the £50 assessment fee at application.) Lastly, for now, if I may, can I challenge you to ask yourself "why" the general public knows about CORGI / GAS Safe? (yes I acknowledge it is a legal requirement and hence has a much higher status in that respect but has CORGI / GAS Safe ever written to you or been on main stream TV, or the broadsheets particularly...or is it because every van you see carries the logo...yours could be carrying the 'ARB Approved Contractor' logo and thereby helping the cause..!) Thanks for reading...and I hope you sleep well Cheers all n tc out there:thumbup1: Paul

:thumbup1: Paul

Hey Joe, great that you've had such a good training experience with Roland, as indeed many others have before. In order to get maximum exposure for your post you may wish to transfer it to three Climbers and or Training forums so more people will see it..Unless there's a particular reason you've posted here Cheers Paul

Pretty sure the old "Blue Book" advised 48hrs. Clearly many LAs are cash strapped and under resourced BUT that's not your clients fault. I would write to (email) the Arb Officer in question and ask for a confirmation within 5 days, perhaps citing the above and what's happened to date. If no response is forthcoming, and said VERY reluctantly, I would consider a formal complaint to the LA which may do the TO a favour indicating he/she is under resourced...perhaps. Good luck, Paul

Hi Les, Obviously some of the questions you raise we cannot answer as we didn't keep track of where people went but reasonably assumed they came to the show...why ever would they not? Clearly these are very much headline figures for marketing purposes so I have enquired with our "marketing man," and the show organizer (my colleague Simon,) to see if we can supply anymore data to help. Hoping to post back soon.. Paul

Hi there, thank you for your post here and I'm really pleased to hear the event was a success for you and we look forward to welcoming you back to the next one (thank YOU also for supporting the event and exhibiting ) Best regards and "see you again soon" Paul

Thanks Steve n Mark, comments noted n will be fed back. Cheers Paul

Hi all, with further press releases to follow: Key statistics: Visitor Stats 6834 Visitors 3486 more visitors than 2016 - 96% increase 3128 more visitors than our record year in 2015 - 84% increase 3015 Visitors on Friday 3819 Visitors on Saturday Exhibitor Stats: 109 Exhibitors 26 more exhibitors than 2016 (31% increase) 65 exhibitors returning from 2016 (78% returning) 39 exhibitors attended for the first time 17 Exhibitors selling wood chippers Climbing and competitions: 48 Climbing Competition Entrants 3:36.00 – Expert Climb Winning Time 14:25.00 – Premier Climb Winning Time 5 Arborist Knots in 17.09 seconds – Knot Tying Competition Winning Time 150 children enjoyed the kids climbing tree Arb Ale: 1700 Pints sold by Stroud Brewery (1100 Friday, 600 Saturday) I'm away for the weekend so will pickup any replies Sunday evening / Monday. Thanks all n have a good weekend, Paul

Can't they park somewhere else...under a 'safer' tree Cheers, Paul

Adopting the BS3998 'risk assessment' approach to deadwood removal, recognizing it is a niche habitat and therefore important, generally speaking, does it need to be removed or is it a perception of danger rather than actual. If so, can it be reduced in size / length, as opposed to removed all together, to lessen the likelihood of falling and the impact if it does / did. I would only remove if absolutely necessary and as a last resort. Playing "devil's advocate" a little bit here...and reminding us what the BS recommends in terms of a risk management approach. Cheers, Paul

Yep, got one in the back garden, C. frigidus(?)

Respectfully, you need an arboricultural report to support your claim that the tree is unsafe / hazardous. Once armed with such, and assuming it concludes the same, you can then reapply to the LPA and, if refused, you are in a much stronger position to appeal. There are many who will doubtless contribute here whom are well positioned to undertake this for you but we operate an accreditation scheme specifically for arbor. consultants so I can direct you to that if required (in appointing somebody alongside the prerequisite arboricultural / tree inspection skills they need to have good report writing skills and be very familiar with the Planning / TPO system too.) Regards, Paul

Thanks "5 Shires," we really do appreciate you taking the time to post here but, more importantly, we're really pleased to hear you enjoyed the show and it worked well for you...and many others You're right about the APF, which is a fantastic show / event, but, unlike ARB Show, it isn't every year and it isn't 'arb specific', albeit an increasing presence of such. We honestly do try to do the best with the resources we have available...but that's not to suggest we can't improve which of course we always try to do. Regarding "dates for 2018", subject to confirmation by Westonbirt (so a big "BUT"), it will be the same weekend, i.e. 11/12th May (2018.) Thanks again, Paul

Kev, Jake, 5 Shire and Mr Oz, thanks for your posts here and apologies for the delayed reply as I was with Network Rail all yesterday n travelling etc. I'm in Head Office today so will endeavor to get some more accurate information to feedback...but this is reliant on us having received info from Westonbirt (re-visitors nos.) and agreed dates (re-2018 event.) Cheers, Paul

Thanks for your feedback here. No sure how much influence we can have here as the tree / arboretum aspect is down to Westonbirt. I will ensure your feedback is heard. Thanks again Paul

Great stuff, glad you had good day n lucky you being Westonbirt "Friend" Cheers James Paul

Thanks Matt, I hear you n we will try our best. Regards Paul

"Nice one Tommy", thanks for that, good of you to say, and glad you had a good day. We will be feeding back the "running out of stuff" to the suppliers which, hopefully, might entice others back next time Cheers again Paul

Hi Steve (Bullman) You asked in a previous post about overall numbers to the show. My colleague Steve has just posted a figure of "over 5,000" visitors (so 5,001 ) which exceeds the previous 'record' of 3,600. Cheers, Paul

"Good stuff," thank you You're not the first to say about some suppliers "selling out" so we will flag that to those who were present. Thanks again, Paul

Thanks Rich, nice of you to say so here. We do listen, we act where we can, and where's it's reasonable to do so...and we don't always get it right and this is what we NEED to know (so thank you all), even if we can't fix it at least we know and if things change we can review. Nice one n thanks again for your time Paul

Nice one Rich, thanks for your post and for coming along. We are on "the beer case" for next time so hopefully your friends won't have cause to get upset next time Cheers, Paul

Hi there, thanks for your comments here. Unfortunately, as I've learned this morning, that is correct, i.e. no refunds, but had you come to see us at the AA tent (on the day) we may have been able to do something...sorry. I think showing of current membership cards was equally the case when we (AA) managed the show entry too (obviulsy now done by Westonbirt staff because of the collaborative working arrangements.) I hope the "social aspect," eventually, made for a good day overall and that we'll see you back there again next year Sorry again, Paul