armybloke

You make a good point Jules. The law is there, albeit a little trimmed down, but the other issue is that no one is readily available to police it or enforce it beyond the 'please don't do that again' syndrome (exceptions to every rule as I do know a few TOs that you would not want to bet against!). LPAs have no resources or finances left to oversee what they must (do) feel is a hole they won't plug. I have many TO friends who go to work every day and are told to save money - and if that means not reviewing or auditing a development site then the loss of canopy cover is inevitable (in my opinion).

You may find this useful. TPOs and Conservation Areas are two separate entities and not to be confused in terms of tree protection: The existence of the Conservation Area confers a degree of statutory legal protection upon the trees, with a stem diameter of greater than 75mm (at 1.5m above ground level), growing within it. In particular it should be noted that prior to undertaking any works to trees within a Conservation Area it is necessary to submit a Section 211 notice to the Local Planning Authority giving six weeks’ notice of the proposed works. In practice the submission of a planning application containing fully specified details of proposed tree works will usually meet this requirement. An authority may treat a planning application for development in a conservation area that includes specified tree work as a section 211 notice if the applicant has clearly stated that it should be considered as such. However, if work is proposed to trees other than those immediately affected by a proposed development then a separate section 211 notice should be submitted. Where an authority has granted planning permission for development in a conservation area, only tree works necessary to implement the development may be carried out. The authority may use conditions or informatives attached to the permission to clarify this requirement.

Can you get a close up please?

Ring-barked a Silver Birch four years ago for ecological biomass. Cut into the stem 4 inches all the way around and then cut a wedge shape out from that. Fell over this winter finally! Resilient little critters.

I agree with you in part Paul but if I did not try to do 'my bit' I would feel a little guilty that I wasn't trying at all. Bit like recycling, I feel like I am wasting my time when I see landfill full of recyclable items but I don't want to feel I added towards it.

An hour a week

Do you think we do enough to halt the removal of trees for development sites? Over a period of 8 months I catalogued the trees and groups of trees I inspected and then (in agreement with the LPA) the trees and groups removed to facilitate the development. This table does not reflect those trees I inspected in total merely those projects that I have followed up with Method Statements and supervision whereby I can make a true tally of the trees and groups retained on a site. You will see from the table that almost 40% of all trees inspected have been lost and exactly 35% of all groups inspected removed. The group element could range from 3 to 50 trees depending on the size of the site. Normally categorised as shelterbelt, woodland or copse within a report I have made it easier to keep a spreadsheet of data. It upsets me to allow so many trees to be felled for the sake of a build but I look around me and we are running out of usable space. I have been fortunate to be able to travel to India recently and therefore can use this experience as an analogy of how 'we' may value a tree. in contrast and despite housing and population densities there being the highest in the world it is far greener than UK. I talk of the towns and cities where there is a tree in front of every shop and on every street corner and not the tropical jungles and backwaters. They need them for shade but by comparison we need them for pollution, hydrology, humidity and temperature control. Unlike the UK nothing is wasted there too. From bamboo being used for building materials to washing a plate with an abrasive bark, I noticed that the people of India understood the value of a tree perhaps better than we do. Many 'people' take them for granted - until it is gone! Felling, pruning and management of trees is a livelihood for many of the readers in this Forum but are we being over zealous in our quest to make a living? I hope I manage to do what I can for the next generation of planet occupants but as I travel the 'bazaars' of UK it seems that money is the root of most evil. Can we do more? Just a thought........... Tree removal table.docx

Definitely go again but to see the north next time Bihar region is meant to be pretty spectacular - Himalayas are on my list of places to visit too. Our guide put me off going to Goa. Too commercialised, crime is growing and the tourists are tending to not treat the locals with the respect they deserve - shame.

We had a family holiday in Tamil Adu and Kerala (India) over Christmas and New Year. I have posted a few pictures for you to enjoy of the flora and fauna we encountered. Some interesting features included within the tea plantations the fact that Silver Oak is grown as shade trees and lapped - an Indian term (pollarded) to maintain the right amount of shade. The Bhodi or people tree and Neem Tree are always grown together as they represent fertility and good fortune. So within the boundaries of the Hindu temples they can be seen. Traversed an odd number of times is alleged to provide the good fortune. If you consider your right foot as a positive and left as a negative you only find steps in off numbers and always lead with your right. The theory was tested in many places and confirmed as always an odd number. So you enter someone's house in a positive mood and leave feeling the same! Trees were never an issue and needed for shade. They grew next to and often through peoples homes with the construction favouring the trees health (Oh I wish we took the same stance!). Despite the population and growth of the cities and towns we travelled through it was immensely green. We managed to visit Monty Dons favourite spice garden near Periyer and the owners even made us dinner! A lovely family and a guided tour enlightened us on the use of the spices in India through medicine and cooking. Curry was on the menu three times a day so they needed to be able to vary the flavours regularly! Breakfast was always a challenge in consumption terms as they like 'hot' food! The Kerala Backwaters (spent on a houseboat) was chocking with water hyacinths, but smelled lovely. Birds were in abundance with Black Kite and Brahminy Kite in their hundreds! Birds of paradise and other such beautifully adorned birds flew around us daily. The elephant experience was for the children. I spoke to the owner and despite having a good english upbringing and education the treatment of the wild animals sickened me. Controversial it may seem but if you starve the industry of money the elephants are starved of food, feed the industry with money and more people take up the trade. Single-handed I could do nothing but admire these magnificent animals for what they are and not what they have been enslaved to do. Enough said. We made rope from Coconut husk (coir), I sat in a barbers chair in a back street and experienced a cut-throat shave (Quite an experience I can tell you - I was shaking to be honest!). We ate a massive variety of foods and enjoyed meeting the locals and spending time learning about their plights and experiences. We saw how tea was grown, the history and what goes in a tea-bag (my opinion is stop drinking the tea in tea-bags as they are full of the poor tea dust swept up off the shop floor - really they are. Green or white tea and loose not bagged) A jungle walk to find a tiger or leopard was unsuccessful but we were taken to see a very rare bird - the Ceylon Frogmouth Owl (false owl) see if you can see the pair of them in a photo? Tree species varied across the country with acacias, mango (tallest fruit tree in world), rubber plantations and coconut (Kearal means land of coconut). I did get to learn most of them so ask if you need help with ID. We started the journey in Kochi and completed in Kovalam on the coast of the Arabian Sea. A truly awesome experience and adventure I can recommend to you all. I hope you enjoy flicking through the pictures. If you have any questions please post them and I will get back to you.

Have a butchers at this Pleurotus ostreatus - Oyster - David Humphries’s Fungi Directory - Arbtalk.co.uk | Discussion Forum for Arborists The cluster is small compared to the tree but that should not rule out the beginnings of decay. Can you sound it with a Thorex 710 hammer? Beech are pretty sturdy and have a pretty good decay defence strategy so early signs help you prepare a mental picture of what is going on inside the tree. Can't really do much more from my desk

The black staining could be just rain water running down the stem - lichen looks wet and that will hold heaps of moisture til it overflows. Unfortunately your pics don't portray a good impression of any staining, can you get more close ups. Also smell the wetter areas - sweet smelling, damp or no odour? It all helps to paint a picture that assists in 'our' decision making for you. Happy snapping!

Agreed

Looks like an Oyster but ideally have a look at Arbtalk.co.uk | Discussion Forum for Arborists Fungi Directory

Oh and the other very nice aspect to this is that they have not been crown lifted or pruned which means that all the lower limbs that are now dysfunctional remain in place like a ladder just waiting to be climbed by an innocent child (or adult!).

Hi David, yes a couple are missing where access to residential properties were required. There are a few odd ones that wrap round the bend which I assume were his spares but never needed repositioning. Awesome sight.

Popped over to Finchampstead, Berkshire for a walk around an environmentally important piece of land owned by the National Trust and drove along this avenue of Giant Sequoia. Originally planted by the land owner in 1863 although it does not state how old the trees were at planting. An impressive site and many are now located within the front gardens of homes along the southern aspect of the highway. Who needs a trip to California when they are on your doorstep!

Encourages thought before discussion begins......

Just to clarify a minor point that Chris makes. If the council have set a precedence of emailing you then the same can apply for you and a letter will not be necessary. An email, with photographic evidence of the trees exempt from the TPO (dead in your case) and clearly marked (red dot with paint is a clear and accepted method for felling) and await your five days - the five days in not necessarily a legal requirement but is a courteous gesture to show the Local Authority that you are in fact only doing as you have a right to do (make safe trees that could impact on person or property). There is also a matter of expedience to abate a foreseeable nuisance but I don't think this will apply to you just yet. I would ask your consultant to make it clear and mark which trees you can remove without redress as he should have done this already for you?

Yes it could be a Picea abies but without further investigation then you won't want to commit would you? It's like going to Thailand and being chatted up at the 'Blow jobs' bar (yep that is what it is called) - you wouldn't commit unless you checked first now would you??....would you? :lol:

Picea sp.

Found these beauty's on a fallen Black Poplar. I believe that it is Ganoderma applanatum

Roadside Sessile Oak with I. dryadeus

Had a week in Shropshire and Brecon. Found a myriad of veterans, ancient trees along with a few oddities. Croft Castle - a Sessile Oak 1000 years old (unconfirmed) and what a sight!

Crown thinning is slightly frowned upon now as suggested within BS3998:2010 (which is your bible for tree works as you know). A reduction is now the norm.