john k

FC web site with more details here: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/gallwasp

I was at a FC briefing about this today and it sounds like they've been responding very quickly. In the space of two weeks they have done a survey of the entire wood, felling sample trees to check for galls, and found out which area is currently affected. They have also got contractors in to machine harvest the 14ha where they have found galls, and will be burning all lop and top hoping to get it done before the wasps emerge. The timber isn't affected and there are no movement restrictions, but it isn't being harvested as tidily as you'd normally see due to the rush. They are also carrying out surveys in the surrounding area, and have asked everyone to keep a look out and to report it if you find any.

The preferred common name is still Chalara though. The FC refer to it as "Chalara dieback of ash".

I've been using WeatherPro on iOS for a few years now and it has been pretty reliable.

OK that makes sense. I can see the distinction there. I agree that the way you operate makes it less likely that any problems will arise, but supposing someone does end up with a sneaky customer who doesn't do what they are meant to and contracts for you to carry out unauthorised work? How about this scenario: a customer who wants a tree removed in a CA, but doesn't want to involve the LPA for any of a number of nefarious reasons. He reckons that the chances of a prosecution are low enough to be worth the risk of felling the tree without notification, but signs your contract saying he'll do the paperwork and assume responsibility. You're clearly confident that you're covered, but has this ever been tested in court? Is there not a danger that as the professional expert in the situation there is a higher duty on you to make sure that the work you carry out is within the law?

I understand that parties to a contract can agree who is responsible for what, but I'm struggling with the idea that someone can commit a criminal act and be blameless because someone else has contracted to take responsibility for it. There must be more to it than just having a contract. If I was hired as a hit man, the contract from my employer absolving me from the consequences of knocking someone off is unlikely to be very useful. Presumably you'd also need to have good grounds for believing that what you're doing is legal. Is there some sort of established test of reasonableness?

The situation is effectively the same. The application/notification is different, but unauthorised work is an offence either way and carries the same penalties. S211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 states: (3) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to prove— (a) that he served notice of his intention to do the act in question (with sufficient particulars to identify the tree) on the local planning authority in whose area the tree is or was situated; and (b) that he did the act in question— (i) with the consent of the local planning authority in whose area the tree is or was situated, or (ii) after the expiry of the period of six weeks from the date of the notice but before the expiry of the period of two years from that date. I don't know of any case law where a contract has been accepted as a defence in this situation (I'd be happy to be wrong in this though). It might be helpful in mitigation, and it might even persuade the LPA to prosecute the land owner and not the person who actually did the work, but I certainly wouldn't want to be relying on it. I've just looked at your web site and you have way more experience of tree law than I do so you're probably right. What's the case law that establishes this ability to contract out from a legal responsibility in this case?

R v Bournemouth Justices, ex parte Bournemouth Corporation (1970) established the offence of "causing or permitting" but doesn't exonerate the person carrying out the work. Contravening a TPO is a legal offence. You can't contract out of that.

For most people going on a formal training course is going to be the most suitable option, but it's not a legal requirement. If you are already competent then whatever training you have received is adequate. This doesn't need to be an NPTC/LANTRA training course though and could have been someone showing you what to do 20 years ago, or just reading the instruction manual and watching YouTube videos. A formal assessment is the generally accepted way of providing evidence of competence. Anyone who considers themselves competent can be assessed if they choose, without needing to do a course.

Excellent. In that case I'll probably not buy another two or maybe three tickets a week and be even better off

Competence is the requirement. Training may lead to that competence, but is not necessarily required. A certificate may be used as evidence of competence, but is no guarantee!

Works for me. By not buying 2 tickets a week I'm about £100 a year ahead.

Is there any case law to support this? It's not how the law normally works.

There are, or were (not sure of the latest situation), grants under the Woodfuel Woodland Improvement Grant towards the costs of putting in roads to make access better. That may be what you're thinking of. I'm pretty confident that there are no grants to help with the direct costs of harvesting your crop though!

It's the same as everything else. If you're buying stuff from someone who is VAT registered they'll charge you VAT. If you are VAT registered then you charge VAT on anything you sell or services you provide. The only slight quirk is that wood fuel sold direct to the end user has a VAT rate of 5% instead of 20%

No, but you might be able to get a restocking grant depending on the circumstances. Have a chat with your local FC woodland officer. You will need a felling licence and they'll be able to advise on that too.

He's at Cowdray until September, though he has been spotted wearing an EW jacket recently!

There is, or was, some being cut on the Barlavington estate but I don't know whether it has all come out yet. Might be worth given Andy at English Woodlands a shout http://www.englishwoodlandsforestry.co.uk

There's no requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment if you are just cutting footpaths or opening up rides. If you want to build more substantial forest roads you will need to consult the FC though. http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6dfl55

I've noticed this round here too. Some trees appear to have put all their resources into seeding and have produced very few leaves. Ash can be fickle for a whole range of reasons though and I haven't spotted any definitive Chalara symptoms in these trees so far.

Here are links to those two: http://www.wcmt.org.uk/sites/default/files/report-documents/Alsop%20J%20Report%202014.pdf http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/assets/suffolk.gov.uk/Environment%20and%20Transport/Environment/Chalara%20-%20On%20the%20front%20line.pdf

That's what it looks like to me too, but I haven't managed to find any reference to this anywhere else. I had to actually go looking for a healthy ash tree today to remind myself what it should look like!

Here are some photos I took today in Kent. Classic wilted leaves Infected growth on mature tree Thin crowns as described above... ...and a close up of the tree in the middle Patches of dieback in a crown Dead sapling and infected sapling showing regrowth Another sapling showing classic symptoms of last year's growth during off with new growth below The orange/brown dead branches are obvious year round. The wilted leaves are just starting to show now, and turn black and stay attached for a while. Diamond shaped lesions will give another confirmation if they are present, but in my experience they are not as common as the guides make out. It's not a disease that is obvious unless you look for it, but the more you look, the more you'll find. It's gone quiet on the news and most non-tree people I speak to tend to assume that it's gone away, but it definitely hasn't.

It's very easy to diagnose in saplings, but harder to give a definitive answer in more mature trees as they may not show any of the obvious classic symptoms. From your description of the poor crowns I would say that there's a good chance that it may be Chalara. Are there any saplings near by that you can look at? If mature trees are being affected then saplings almost certainly will be.

Is that a Forestry Commission job?