Gary Prentice

Armillaria is pretty endemic and usually gets the upper hand when trees aren't healthy or stressed. I think I've read a recommendation though to grind out as much as possible and remove. Bracket forming fungi will have released millions of spores anyway, so probably unnecessary to do anything. Just my opinion.

Think that Joe's on his way to rescue him. Joke's aside, I hope all went well, God loves a trier.

When did Sheffield become independent from the rest of the UK? From that video it looks like Chapter 8 signing consists of a couple of cones and barrier tape. HSE regs don't apply, it's okay to dismantle trees over the heads of the public.... just carry on regardless.

There's a lot of militant and subversive old ladies in South Yorks

Glad that you didn't read my comment as a personal attack, it wasn't meant as such. The bigger picture, as to whether what is being done is right or wrong, is often over-looked when a tree-hugging protestor is being obstructive, abusive or just damn awkward. Until arboriculturists (not foresters) are actually involved in policy making at government levels, I just think that these situations will continue. It's frustrating that so much is now known about the benefits; financial, social and environmental, of trees and we still suffer unjustifiable losses of mature trees for reasons that can be resolved in other ways.

Well that will or should spark some discussion. Can I point out Chris, respectfully, that you work in a position very different from the contracting side of the industry. In that side, you do what you're told by the boss or client. It would be nice to turn away jobs that you didn't agree with, but taking the high ground doesn't pay the mortgage nor feed the kids. I can't speak for others, but I've topped hundreds of trees, knowing that it's wrong, when I haven't been either in a position to refuse to do it or been in a position to offer alternative specifications. The same with felling decent trees with long SULEs. You're in the position that you do work you dislike, object to and even hate - but hopefully tomorrow you do something that you see beneficial or of value in some way. If you can't hamster it away, you've three choices; leave the industry, start on your own and pick the jobs you agree with (you'll struggle to make a go of it) or study to try to get in a position where you can get your voice heard. The problem with the last option, is that then you find too many people at the higher levels of authority don't give a damn about trees anyway. You only need to look at some of the comments about 'replacing' semi-ancient woodland by a recent Environmental Minister and what's going on with this high speed train thing. The problems the arbs have been getting at Sheffield, if anything, are poorly directed. But as usual, the contractor bears the brunt of the public emotion.

I may be wrong or associate this with another authority, but I'm pretty sure that the planting issue was in the news some time back. Each replacement tree was somewhere in the region of £2-3k (IIRC), which was attempted to be justified by cost of tree+planting+aftercare and pruning for the contract duration. (30yrs) Ironically, again IIRC, there was some photos, before and after, of mature trees on a road replaced by what looked cherries. The reason for removal being that the existing trees were damaging the highway infrastructure.

Depends if you feel that you live at the office!

I'm still hoping to get an answer, from someone, as to under what authority these actions can be carried out. I can imagine the reaction (and consequences) turning up on a job and lifting someone's motor because it's in the way. It seems to me that the council have exceeded and abused whatever statutory powers exist to undertake the works and hopefully are bought to task for it. I've been following this a bit, on another forum where, I believe, a former Sheffield TO has been quite supportative of the NEED to do a lot of the works, due to lack of funding in previous years. Actions like this do little to endear public support or sympathy for the programme.

Not to be pedantic, Mark, but it's the iron in the steel. Edit. But 'Iron' your ideal don't make sense and ain't funny

Can anyone explain to me under what authority, the LA with the assistance of the police, can actually wake you up in the early hours and demand you move your car? My limited experience of this is, for 'essential' works, that notices are normally posted in advance that under the power of this or that act, parking is temporary suspended on such and such road on whatever dates. Not getting into the whole debate of the Sheffield debacle, as I don't know enough about it, but I'm really having difficulty understanding how anyone concerned thought that going about doing the work this way wouldn't end up in tears. I think I'd probably get arrested if a copper/arborist/highways official knocked me up at 5AM demanding I moved my cars.

Think mattmoss uses it

Is that why they're dead and diseased? Recycled Stella positioning?

Underhand:biggrin: it's a government initiative. Saves the country money and makes some big companies very well off. (I assume cos I can't imagine doing it out of the goodness of their hearts)

I'm getting concerned that I'm agreeing with more and more of your posts. Are you mellowing as you age?

Yeah, I know where you live.... but rochdales pretty damn close to go to work.

I'm not sure how much support there is, for or against, but STAG have been very proactive and vocal. Is that good practice grabbing a stem with a clamshell bucket, as it's something I'd be too confident about.

Weather wise not bad, although the snows clinging to trees. Roads/traffic are awful, more due to people either panicking and doing 2mph or giving it too much welly and spinning their wheels.

Treelink, me, NeilB, Phil to name a few:001_tt2: You'd be lucky to get to site today, we,re calling it after ferrying staff in.

And after a couple of glasses, who cares?

Well, why limit yourself to insulting individuals, when you can insult everyone of a certain religion.

Probably the most offensive post so far:thumbdown:

See this is what happens when you try categorise nature into man made compartments. We have to have international conferences of experts to even name things, then decide a few years later that 'no, they're in the wrong box, put them in another and call them something else!' The damn things just won't conform.

Cos after he spent time making all these different tree species, you continue to insist they're all hornbeam?

Like it! Any better photo's?