Gary Prentice

No. You can't become immune from prosecution because someone else says they'll take the blame.

I think the only way to 'test' the validity of an order is through the High Court. What year was the order served? It wasn't until, I think, 2012 that an order had to be confirmed within six months. Previously an order could be confirmed at any time (I had one at 8 years), but between 6 months and confirmation the tree wasn't protected. It's possible that the TPO is valid

We're not all wealthy consultants Kevin looking at some of the 'book' posts I think if it's difficult for lads on the tools to really see the investment in books. Hundreds of pounds on tools and equipment? You can see a rapid return in that they'll earn you money. Books are something else. They are a lot of money, you'll need to read lots of them and the return is long term. I know that I was really lucky when I started back at college, being fairly financially secure with enough disposable income to buy what I needed. Im really sympathetic to the 'youngsters' who want to learn but restricted by the cost of it. If there's anyone around Manchester who's studying and struggling to get access to books, I'm quite happy to lend whatever I have (but I'd like em back) if they PM me.

I can't remember the differences, but you could go a bit further and look at the encyclopaedia. I think its it's meant to cover the topics in most of the earlier books, in a single volume.

I can on iPhone

I tried to buy a good quality set, only to find it was a Neilson (?) when it arrived. The drill bit was so bent and out of true it wouldn't roll on a flat surface! Engineering works next door drilled and retapped it for a tenner.

Ha ha

The bark doesn't look right, nor the heartwood? But otherwise you think it's Robinia pseudoaccacia? I thought it was hornbeam, but the bark, sapwood and heartwood doesn't look right!

Not read any, but the second on the list was written in 1923, so things may have come on a bit since then. Probably the best solution is to break down into the entire subject into smaller sections; botany - how trees grow, mycology - the relationships between trees and fungi, tree identification, tree diseases, tree structure and hazards, soil sciences, woodland conservation/management etc and then ask what's the best available book to have and save up for that. The research for amenity trees series are pretty good, but pricey - but I still look to them years and years after I bought them. Matthecks Encyclopedia - '£70 covers pretty much all of his other books, Alex Shigo's books are good but are starting to be superseded by new research (I bought mine new from the US) - the list goes on, and on. I've 300-400 'tree books' on the shelf and not a single one provides a solution to every question I have, nor do the 1000's of downloaded articles, journals or papers on the hard drive. It's such a huge subject, with so many inter-related other subjects, that one book can't start to cover the lot.

Reading through from the start of the post and looking at the photos of the build and the beautiful interior, with some real quality workmanship, I was thinking how idyllic the setting was and how satisfied you must be with the results. I can't imagine how you must now feel, to pick up the pieces and even to consider starting over again. You have my sympathy and a great deal of respect & admiration.

For the win Going through my books 'm leaning towards P padus 'watereri' but PP will certainly do. I was wrong about its population, it's not that common up here. Thank you

A fruit of some sort was my initial impression, although the openness of the canopy makes me doubt that. Could well be wrong. I couldn't see in evidence of fruit around the three trees on the site.

I caI came across this and am getting frustrated with the ident. I think it's pretty common but I'm just getting a mental block on what it is. Sorry, the pictures aren't great. Oh and the tree on the left, not the ivy enshrouded hawthorn.

Can't remember if it was fruiting or not, but rhizomorphs over thirty foot high under the bark of a DED dead elm

And if you did you'd only die of the stress of trying to do it all.

At the AA conference (might of been at Keele, 2015 anyway) one of the American Speakers demonstrated the need for pruning at the time of planting. Standing in in the university grounds he pointed out all the structural problems in the surrounding trees and then proceeded, with secateurs) to cut away a large proportion of the sapling waiting to be planted. His point was that no one would be likely to return to create a good scaffold structure in later years so make it right to start with. Looking at a lot of nursery stock there's unfortunately still a need for pruning (that should have been done in the nurseries), but good species/plant selection, the right tree in the right spot and while the tree is very young is better. As tree surgeons we're using acting thirty years too late, using chainsaws when the operation should have been carried out with secateurs

Can you still buy Arbrex? seriously though the pruning position is the most important thing. Get that right and the tree has the best chance of defending itself

I had a site where the LA had suspended construction activity due to unauthorised excavations within the RPAs of TPO'd trees. The TO wrote a report that three trees had to be felled as a result. I wrote a report to say that two should be removed, removing the third was preemptive and unnecessary at the time. Our team went and felled the two trees. The following day, the client who was a managing company based elsewhere, rang to say he thought the wrong trees had been felled! I doubted the claim, clear instructions and plans had gone to site. I was wrong! when asked, the team leader said that he thought the wrongly felled tree should be removed, so he did. He admitted to not even looking at the plan and did what he thought needed doing. The other lads on site questioned him at the time, they asked him to check the plan, but he refused to take it out of his pocket and carted on. He knew best! The architect had already been invited in for an interview under caution, and I had to then inform the LA we'd felled a TPO'd tree. I'm still embarrassed, and bloody annoyed at the whole situation.

That might, actually, have been a blessing.

And includes a specification for the categorisation/standardisation of plant sizes

Unless they're whole, you'd be lucky to even realise what you'd seen. I did several DB/remains searches in my mountain rescue days (training exercises and for real) and no-one ever found the planted body part items or identified them as such. It's surprising how often dog walkers found bodies compared to the MRT I was in

Last thing I want to see is an Enforcement Officer.

A box ticking exercise bob, just to show H&S is taken seriously. well, until it costs extra time and/or money

I've sent you a private message

Already said that we have too, for a number of different chippers.