likeitorlumpit

Basically I went in and they said we would always appreciate an e mail in these situations- I guess thats so they are prepared if someone complains. Other than that, just crack on.

The Highways Act 1980 (s.137) says that " If a person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine ..." This is taken by the courts to be the obstruction of the road by temporary occupation such as scaffolding, burger vans, demonstrations and so forth. I am not at all clear that it is intended to include trees, which don't intuitively seem to fall into the category of wilful obstruction i.e. deliberately doing something rather than letting some state of things come to be.

 

I think it would be useful to know for sure whether pruning back branches that might be causing an obstruction, but without having been told it is an obstruction, is exempt from TPO controls.

I'm hoping to get a Canterbury answer today though their council website is determined that you fill in online forms to 'talk' to a TO.

We'll see. He may not know the intricacies though. The council offices are just down the road from the job so I may drop in. No I will drop in.

That's very good of them to be so clear about it. But if you look at the Highways Act there is no duty to keep roads and footpaths clear of obstructions. The only absolute requirement to do so is when notice is served on you. Only then are you complying with an Act of parliament and therefore entitled to enjoy the exemption.

 

Isn't that right? And is Basingstoke saying that you don't need to apply to remove an obstruction because if you do they will approve it anyway? A subtle distinction, but they may be exercising a blanket deemed approval rather than following the letter of the law.

 

I'll feel suitably vanquished, humbled and enlightened if there is some law somewhere that says a tree owner has to keep the road and footpath clear of obstructions.

Thanks for staying involved in this thread.

I too would like to know the definitive answer. I would like to 'put this one to bed' so it were. I'll have a chat with the Canterbury tree officer tomorrow hopefully and see if he knows the exact regulation.

Provided that only the minimum amount of pruning is being carried out to comply

with the requirements of the Highway Act 1980, in other words the pruning is

directly required to maintain adequate clearance over a footpath or road, then a

formal application (for trees that are subject to a tree preservation) or a ‘Notice of

Intent’ (for trees that are growing in a conservation area) is not required. This

exemption applies irrespective of whether the highway authority has served notice

on you to carry out the clearance work. The pruning should be carried out to

currently acceptable arboricultural standards. If you wish to carry out work in

excess of the minimum required (for example if you want to prune branches

growing over your own property) you will need to submit a formal application or

notice of intent for the additional works.

The above was 'lifted' from Basingstoke council website.

2.4m above footpaths- to allow a person with an umbrella and 5.2m height from the central white line.

It seems you can just do it even without being formally instructed to. In other words, it is your duty as a landowner to make sure you keep any overhanging trees within those parameters. Kinda makes sense really.

There's so much of it in this tree, it would be hard to narrow it down. But cladding and outdoor furniture as a start.

I've found this thread very interesting. Good tip for taxodium/metsequoia distinction.

The Giant Sequoia is the heavy one (the one you see cars driving through). The Coast redwood is the tall one.

If you've got Giant Sequoia you may find little use for it. When we visited the area in Yosemite, it was explained to us that the trees survived logging largely because they were useless for construction timber. Too brittle.

As a consequence and a supreme irony, they were sold to tourists looking for souvenires.......................as matches.

One of the best views was up through a tree to the circle of blue sky way above. The centre had burnt out leaving the tree alive and growing but hollow.

Maybe the confusion exists because 'Wellingtonias' are relatively young in this country and don't look anything like the gnarled old boys in Yosemite.

I'm always amazed at how many were planted and the distinctive outline can often be seen usually wherever you drive in Kent out of the built up areas.

I think the Stihl meters are fine for the log game.

Just tried mine in a cup of water- it shows OL which I assume is off the scale.

Thanks guys- that helps no end. I'm tempted to just get on with it but as I see it as not super important, I will inform TO first. Especially as we are flat out at the moment and don't need the work:001_smile:

We've been asked to appease highways to give buses headroom (a 5m lift)

It's a line of limes in Canterbury next to a busy road.

The Limes are TPO'd. The work wouldn't affect major branches. (whether thats important or not I'm not sure)

Should we go through the 2 month process of liason with the tree officer or does the fact that we have been asked/instructed by highways mean we should just get on with it before they do it and charge.

Anyone been there?

I'll burn anything- cedar at the moment= fantastic heat

If I was though offered a cube of oak at £100 or a cube of 'softwood' at £80 I would go for the oak. Then use a bit of softwood to regulate the burn

So what price should the softwood be to get my business.

So long as the chainsaws are fired up- I can't see what the realism issue is.

Yes , oh yes

Don't ever trust a farmer to keep to an original agreement especially when they get talking to someone= wife/new girlfriend/land agent.

Once they see you making money- they want some of it. Often because they are bad in business and can't rely on their own ability.

Good riddance = I say. Sorry to be so harsh but it's true.

Interesting that most older workers prefer to work alone and reap the benefits.

Must be a bit boring though. AND restricting.

Job and knock doesn't work in a 2 or more team environment as it becomes competitive and jealousies rear their ugly heads. Competitive 'job and knock'. Everyone rushing to get home first- who loses?= the customer and eventually the business.

Theres all sorts

1. Older experienced- know how to keep the day fresh

2. Knowledgeable- the go to guy when things have to be thought through

3. Gymmy- want to lift the most, the quickest.

4. The learner- Keen to learn so others are willing to teach, but that means he's a bit slow and slows the team down- future potential though

5. The stop and talk- always stops what he's doing to talk about stuff.

6. The clown- not necessarily good at anything but has learnt to cover this by making everyone laugh. Most important.

7. The backstabber- everyone thinks he's their friend but behind their back runs them down especially to the boss. This covers up for their inadequacies.

8. The organiser- gets the job done on time or early by having everything to hand and gently getting everyone doing their best.

Theres probably a few more and I've worked with all of these. It takes more than just brawn to make a team.

More importantly, you usually get a mix of the above with everyone.

I see it differently- are you all sure you're not just 'moaning' in the way that all trades moan.

I experience all trades and must note here that there are gripes with them all. Even electricians have issues.

Just remember the jobs where the customer/ passing public stop and watch. They love it and respect how technical it can be.

I don't see people rushing for the nearest cowboy. The secret is to do a good job, politely. be happy because everyone prefers happy tradesmen and charge according to your costs. That way, you'll build a business.

Just remember we're not here on a mission to save the world and the trees we are asked to work on belong to the customer. In the world of public trees, I'm sure there are reasons to use legislation to achieve an aim but it represents maybe 10% of this industry. The rest of us just have to listen to what the customer wants and respond professionally.

Understatement. Glad I did this thread, something didn't feel right but my grey matter was dead tonight. Thank you.

My pleasure- I'm like a dog with a bone when it comes to maths:001_smile:

Sorry in advance.

 

Scenario: You're buying standing (by the m3), harvesting and selling 1000m3 of larch for biomass and the buyer is paying £25/m3 for the stuff.

 

However the buyer wants to pay on tonnage at £20/tonne...

 

Seeing as larch in the blue book is 1.2m3 per tonne thus

 

25 x 0.8 = 20

 

so does that make no difference???

 

I am being profoundly thick I know

If your buyer is currently paying you £25 per m3 he should be paying you £30 per tonne if that is his preferred new method of payment. Work it through because otherwise you'll lose quite a bit of money on this new deal.

Oh 'ell! Which is it then?!

£30 a tonne would give you £25 for every m3 you cut at that 1.2 conversion figure

If your buyer was paying £25 per m3 then he should be paying £30 per tonne not £20. Thats if 1.2m3 of larch chip weighs a tonne. Am I reading your question wrong?

Sorry in advance.

 

Scenario: You're buying standing (by the m3), harvesting and selling 1000m3 of larch for biomass and the buyer is paying £25/m3 for the stuff.

 

However the buyer wants to pay on tonnage at £20/tonne...

 

Seeing as larch in the blue book is 1.2m3 per tonne thus

 

25 x 0.8 = 20

 

so does that make no difference???

 

I am being profoundly thick I know

If the buyer wants to pay £20 per tonne then you are getting

£20x5/6 per cu.m. = £16.67 per cu.m.

You have to cut/chip 1.2m3 to get £20

Hope that simplifies it - buyers can be tricky

Thats a hard one.

It depends on whom used it and whether they left it running when idle= Makes a huge difference.

As does regular blade changes/ oil changes= the more worn they become , the more strain on the engine etc. bad oil is bad.

As does putting bricks through. Not sure theres a good reason to take much notice of hours clock.

last year i had subbies working for me a handfull of times. i want to get employers liability, is it going to be worth the extra cost for the handful of times i use subbies??

 

obviously if a subby put a tree through someones roof i would be saying i wish i had EL.

If a subbie did that, you'd need public liability

I think you've answered your own question though- get covered- gives you peace of mind- well 95%

Despite its poor reviews from many on here its been worked hard everyday almost for over a year now and never missed a beat BUT the warrenty is now out so im looking for any ideas to get a little more poke out of it?

 

Muffler mods?

Started out as the ugly duckling but after modifications turned out OK

Buy a 362 would be my advice if wanting more power.

Porting saws surely leads to potential H&S nightmare should anyone be hurt.

Trust Stihl:confused1:

I find it really disappointing that you chose to buy.

Yes its 50 quid a saw but you are encouraging this guy to carry on selling this knock off crap.

If its genuine (almost certainly not) its most likely stolen but more likely as you mention, its a chinese rip off.

These saws are great if you have a few cuts to make or want a back up saw to to your main saws but of course these things are cheap for a reason. They are made from inferior quality materials.

 

Im damn sure that i would not want to place trust in what has the potential to be a dangerous product. something that is not tested by the manufacturer and they couldnt give a toss about your wellbeing as there will be no come back to them.

 

But its a free country! Just about so your call.

 

Shame about the almost certainly used child labour that was involved in its manufacture and the mob money laundering that goes with it.

 

Stay safe.

 

 

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also think its a shame:confused1:

if you encourage these rogues ... well what goes around comes around. I guess you're hoping not to you.

Not you but the other guy

Good old mentor

How are you finding them Paul

They reduced their price to £56 a month after I complained they cost too much as all we got was monthly e mail updates after spending about 80 hours getting in shape- risk assessments on all tools/sites etc.

I thought this was a too ready cave in and cancelled the agreement.

Are you still with them?

Thing is with laurels- they survive in spite of you.

I wouldn't worry with lots of soil improvers or anything. We've planted on top of rubble and they still get away.

The root system looks great. in fact better than you get on the nursery sometimes. Just dig a trench and slot them in roughly the same height they were grown at. Bit of water to stabilise. Refill trench. Mulch if you want to to reduce weeds for next year and wait. If its a dry spring, they may lose a few leaves though giving more water will put that right. IMO cutting them back would be a mistake.