Gary Prentice

Is this any use?

Seems like there is more than one definition of quarter sawing.

It certainly appears that very few, consistently, prosecute contraventions. Maybe if the fines imposed came back to the LA, instead of to the Government coffers, there would more incentive. Exactly. I've found it even easier, as a contractor, to write the specification for the application. Things would work even better if the planning department were more strict in their validation of the application, only accepting very detailed work specs and following up after the work was done. We've all seen pruning works on protected trees which either should never been allowed or must have been in excess of the consent given. LAs need the resources to police the process far more stringently than most appear to do. One word. Resources. TPOs are funny things, they just protect the tree but they don't provide the means to allow the LA to enforce the maintenance of the 'asset' that the tree is. As long as the owner doesn't harm the tree it's acceptable for them to ignore it and do nothing that might be beneficial to safeguarding its existence. Sorry Matty, I don't understand what you don't! I agree that not enough trees are protected, I'm aware of many that should be but aren't. Being pragmatic I just accept that it is an imperfect system and everyone involved is doing the best they can with the resources that they have got. After the last big emergence of DED the Isle of Wight authority redid the TPOs on the whole island. There's a paper, online, about it, which explains the time and costs involved. It's an eye-opener to the magnitude of revoking and producing an amended TPO. I'll post it if I can find it (or email to you). It's worth reading to better understand the hoops that need to be jumped through to protect trees and the costs imposed to do so.

I don't think that I've ever met a TO who hasn't lamented on the inability to do away with old area orders, to be replaced with tree specific ones, due to lack of resources. Realistically we're probably lucky to even have a proper tree officer in the first place, instead of a planning officer who has sat through a weeks course in preparation for covering the arbs role. While the government fail to acknowledge the importance of trees in the environment, (locally not globally), nothing will change.

Another topic entirely, but I wonder what percentage of 'protected' trees actually merit a TPO? All I ever hear are TOs complaining that lack of resources prevent resurveying (particularly of old area TPOs). This is a comment, not a criticism. I have a feeling that it may have been a case that it was more to do with poor representation on the defendants side, than really good on the prosecutions.

Sorry Matthew, I'm not making an issue about TPOs and Planning, as such. My question is the condemnation of damaging a 'protected' tree being shown on this thread while we all, as contractors, happily fell sometimes outstanding and exception trees that aren't protected. I'm happy, well I'm not sure that I am really, in including myself in this - felling terrific trees because that's what the owner wants and can do due to the lack of statutory protection. It smacks of hypocrisy, condemning causing the loss of a protected tree while merrily felling similar trees that aren't. I just wonder how others salve their consciences (if they do) or even many even consider it much and just accept it as part of the business. No biggie, just something that I've contemplated over many years, without forming any particular conclusion that I think I've ever been particularly happy, in myself, about. Maybe I should have been a TO.

So when quoting to fell a tree, do you turn down jobs where the owner has just bought a house with an existing tree? "same as spending a lot of money on a block driveway " If you're referring to my appeal case, I should have said that in the neighbours case the drive was cast-in-situ concrete that predated the tree planting by a few decades. The owners original drive also predated the tree but was (hopefully) restored by just replacing the top/wearing surface - if it wasn't the drive contractors would have severed all the roots.

Hope you're a bit cheerier over christmas

Being pedantic, and again encouraging debate. Tax is one thing that to some extent is applicable to everyone. A TPO is something different, something on an individuals property that an outside agency takes control of for the benefit of all while not contributing towards its care. To be blunt tree ownership is a financial burden, despite all the benefits they provide they cost money at some time or another. Then the LA get involved, serves a TPO and rarely considers the financial burdens that they've imposed. I've an appeal in at present - keeping the tree will cost the neighbour an additional £3000 to sort his drive, the owners two year old drive is already damaged - another say £3K to redo with CellwebTRP in the near future. Neighbours garage was knackered but is within the RPA, so special engineering for foundations if he decides to re-build (the concrete raft the old one was on is to badly damaged to serve as a foundation for a rebuild) so more extra costs. The LA refused felling because the tree has amenity value, but haven't deemed it necessary to assign a 'value' in £££. Kind of saying our cost/benefit analysis says it stays even though we have no 'benefit' figure using Cavat, Helliwell or any other evaluation methodology. I don't condone this fellows actions but I do have some empathy.

Purely in the interests in creating discussion... I find folks attitudes a bit strange. Outrage because an owner mullered his own 'protected tree while as a contractor, probably everyone will happily fell a similar tree that isn't protected. The reasoning given for felling a really good (unprotected) tree is usually along the lines of "it's the owners tree to do what he wants with", "if I don't another contractor will". So why are people so outraged? Is a decent tree that the LA have, for whatever reason, deemed worthy of protection/under threat/whatever suddenly of so much greater 'value' than one that isn't? Most of know or have worked on protected trees where we can't even understand why they're protected. I'm really interested in peoples thoughts on this.

I saw this early and my first thoughts were that either it's been badly reported or that the LA weren't particularly thorough in their preparation for the prosecution. The article mentions the ring-barking but also drilling holes in the tree. Maybe they thought they had a slam dunk case but I'm wondering whether they didn't get any testing done for herbicide or they did, and the results were inconclusive. I'd be interested to know what really happened.

I think that wolves need better PR. Introduce them as just a big dog (everybody dogs) and they'll be a lot less controversy. I tell ya!

And maybe wolves to control the deer population? Thinking outside of the box like.

Sorry if this has been mentioned elsewhere, but when I last did the sums for purchasing tree protection fencing for a development site, the cost per panel was ridiculous. Maybe I should be considering deer fencing specs instead of the BS5837 default spec.

Sent you a little light reading for the Xmas period ?

T & C'S for consultants/ surveyors etc

Sounds a reasonable reaction to sometimes overly zealous restraints by others with their own agendas. Slightly different note but on one development site I had some involvement with the original developer was forced to construct a large brick building (bigger than a double garage) to 'rehouse' some bats that 'may' have been residing in some old wooden buildings that were being demo-ed. Long story short, the original developer went bust, long delays before another firm started the build. The new bat building has now been up for about twelves years and last I heard there are still no indications that any passing bat has taken a fancy to the pied-a-terre.

Only problem now is that you'll be banned from working within half a mile of where you found it, have to fill in loads of forms and a thirty page method statement as to how you can continue forestry operations without affecting it. Next thing you know you'll be spending thousands creating a new home, complete with sauna and wide screen cinema screens.

Why's he wearing gloves Sorry, no idea what it is VI

That's a very valid point. Everyone who is knocking this way of working appears to have disregarded the opportunity for loads more bling-bling and shiny stuff on their harnesses. That's it, I'm sold

I wish I had a photo of my first climbing set up for comparison. I haven't so I'll attempt to describe it. Rope over limb tied to screw gate carabiner with a long-tailed bowline. Tail from bowline used to tie prussic knot. Figure eight stop knot. Ain't things changed?

I've had quite a few A&E visits over the last four years which fortunately have always been first class, but you do pick up a few titbits from staff along the way. One paramedic commented towards the end of her shift, that although they'd been non-stop all night, I was the only patient that actually needed an ambulance! One evening, as an inpatient on Oncology I was told that A&E were looking for 40 beds. Yes 40 admissions from A&E, no wonder that department backs up when there are no available beds to move folks into. Hospital managers were suggesting putting beds into a day clinic which was scheduled to open at 8AM. Bare in mind that that clinic is treating patients undergoing chemo who have little or no immune system, so that the entire clinic would have to emptied of admission patients and then be 'deep cleaned' prior to eight o'clock monday morning. I think eventually the hospital had to transfer admissions to other hospitals.

Do you run the brushcutters/strimmers on the same fuel as the saws?

Now all we need are smart drivers

Don't be daft man , you do what everyone does when a set of traffic lights is inoperable - pass through with care on a 'give and take' principle. Is anyone aware of a motorist being prosecuted, for ignoring a traffic sign/signal that was broken? I suggested that people stopped complaining on social media and actually contact the HA in situations where temp. lights appeared inappropriate or unnecessary. Using an example where they were simply 'broke' is out of context to my answer, but you knew that