Chris at eden

Dave Dowson from tree life wrote the syllabus. He knows more about the course than literally anyone else. I did level 6 with them and can’t recommend them highly enough.

Yes I agree. But the chap wants to try to save it. It’s impossible to say how likely it is that it can be saved without seeing it. it could have Kretz or Merip in which case it’s doomed. Or it could be compaction related which could possibly be fixed. Canopy looks pretty naf in the pic though. I did a research project on plant health care in the UK back in 2014 for my L6 dip. It’s a huge industry in the US but it’s rare in the UK. It’s picked up a bit since but not much. The number of times I have seen crown reduction recommended for compaction issues where there is no risk is ridiculous. For risk management fair enough but it won’t fix the underlying issue.

You can possibly look at bite infusion injections and de-compaction / mulching. Depends how far it has gone and what the underlying cause is.

I looked at a tree a couple of weeks ago to give a second opinion. A tree surgeon had knocked the door and told the owner that his pine had died and needed to be felled. I told him it hasn’t, it’s a larch, not a pine and it’s supposed to lose its needles in the winter. Then last week I did a development site survey. The resident said his tree surgeon had told him his Elm had Dutch Elm Disease which was a shame as the house was named after the tree, Elm House it was called. I told him it was nonsense as the tree was a maple. Same tree surgeon told him he needs a MEWP to take out 15ft Lawsons Cypress as it has BT wires through it. there are some really good tree surgeons out there, but also some bad ones. Consultants as well to be fair.

P.s. make sure they include risk of structural damage to the building. Not just tree assessment.

You should get a report from a tree consultant really. Beech don’t respond well to reduction and they may not even need it. I do mortgage reports all the time where the valuation surveyor said they need reducing. More often than not they don’t. But then if there is a risk they may do. Get them looked at properly. It is in your interests.

Neville Faye from tree work environmental practice is the big player from a management point of view. I’ve been asked to do one management plan in the last 6 or 7 years. Doesn’t come up much but then I don’t really advertise it. From a report writing point of view there is money to be made in it as it is specialist. I would think the tree work is the same. Have you been to any of the ATF meetings? Might be worth a look.

Done. Good luck.

Are you doing forestry or Arb?

Crown reduction is light pruning by nature, it isn’t 40%. 40% is topping, bad practice really. You have virtually no chance of getting the council to do that. Or, allowing you to do that. Unless the tree is dangerous, or causing structural damage. This isn’t me being some kind of tree hugger, it is just the way it is. The owner doesn’t have to spend large amounts of money to prevent shade or leaf fall. Housing associations are not usually the council in my experience so if it is a HA, you may have more chance. If the council get wind of it though they may TPO it. I would be surprised if the tree isn’t inspected if it is owned by the council. Best practice is proactive inspections so you wouldn’t really know if and when they are done.

Dave from Tree life wrote the qualifications for the level 2, 4 and 6 for ABC. There is no one better placed to advise. I did the level 6 with them between 2012 and 2014 and the old tech cert before that. The biggest thing dave used to say was download the rules of combination from the ABC website. Look at the assessment criteria and learning outcomes and make sure you meet them fully. But, don’t go over board and off on a tangent. You won’t get extra marks for answering stuff that isn’t in the question. For example. Take note of what the question is asking. If it says list then just list, don’t describe. If it says evaluate, that is just pro and cons, and then form a conclusion. The first time I did a critical evaluation at level 6 I waffled for pages going backward and forward before getting to the point. When Dave marked it, I passed but in the feedback he said, you got there in the end but you could be more succinct. The next one I did I bullet pointed the pros and cons (like old fashioned exam technique) then wrote a conclusion and justification in a few paragraphs. It took me a quarter of the time and covered all the same stuff and still passed. The feedback said - well done, much better! There is no word count other than for the research project at level 6. But, with all the ABC qualifications you must meet 100% of the assessment criteria. Best way to do that is to download to rules of combination and work with it. Good luck everyone. cheers Chris

You always have a band anyway. If you apply for 2m you can reduce up to 2m but it may be less. The LPA will likely condition 3998 which means drop crotching and this may reduce the amount you can prune. I personally think It’s better to say ‘by no more than 2m’ but I have seen loads of apps that do it your way.

Unless the notice relates to a tree that is dead or imposes an immediate risk. In this case section 213 requires a replacement. Granted, this would probably be more of a five day or retrospective notice.

It’s from BS3998. It’s states that reduction should be specified in linear metres of the material removed and of that remaining. They are supposed to refer them back to you if they are vague which to be honest percentages are. If you take 40% off instead of 25% how will they prove that. If you reduce a 20m tree down to 12m instead of 15m then that can be measured and enforced. Plus is it percentage it the tree height or branch extension. Percentages fall into reasonable doubt when it comes to enforcement. I know, thinning is as a percentage but there is no other way. I always take the whole refer back thing as meaning send you an email and ask you to spec in metres rather than send it back altogether. I’m not convinced that you validate 211 notices either. You acknowledge receipt. That’s a grey area for me. It’s bonkers though anyway, if it’s a nice tree in a CA then you would think they would just TPO it. 25% is way outside of BS3998. If it’s not worthy of a TPO then why bother making an issue out of it.

Some contracts such large council street tree pruning contracts only invite tenders from those that are AA approved. Also, many councils refer residents to the AA list if they are asked for a recommendation as most no longer have recommended lists of their own. It’s not that tree surgeons that are not on the list are bad, there are plenty of good ones. But, if you are on the list then chances are you are probably good and have been independently assessed to prove it. That is piece of mind for some folk. Plus, they send you some stickers for your truck. And a logo for the website.

QTRA is just a way of assessing risk but it is something some clients insist on. Housing associations and such. I’m sure you know this. Thing is, I do a lot of risk surveys now but only because I have picked up a couple of big national clients. If I didn’t have them it would be less than 20% of my work. 5837 is huge. The vast majority of new clients is 5837. I would say before 2 years ago 5837 was 70% of my work and risk was maybe 20%. Now it’s 45% for each. The rest is mortgage and damage assessment. If you are serious about surveying and consultancy then 5837 is big. It’s nice to mix it up as well. Cheers Chris.

Nice job for someone fresh out of college. Nice on CV. Then won’t stay long for £18k though.

It depends at what level you work at. Top expert witnesses are £180 an hour.

I charge management companies £500 ish a day. But it covers a lot more than just the surveying. If I use a subby I still go through it and edit and approve. Then there is advertising and all that, CPD, etc. My admin persons wage. It all adds up. They obviously add a bit on to that. I have one client where I am the third subby in the chain. £600 a day isn’t ridiculous.

As a starting point you will be looking at £150 a day. Up to around £200 but you will need L4 min for that. You would get 45p a mile on top for travel. I have a lad who does subby work for me at £200 a day plus travel. He has L6 and years experience as a TO. if you had L3 I could probably pass you a bit if work here and there. Can’t promise anything as we are covering everything at the moment but summer I am usually picking and choosing stuff. Not sure how COVID will impact either. I do quite a bit in Notts, Leicester and Northampton. Have you done 5837? QTRA?

To add to what Jon said, if it went to appeal and it could be shown the LPA had acted unreasonably, you would have a good case to put in for costs.

P.s. would you be working as a stubby sorting your own tax? Using your own insurance or theirs?

What other qualifications do you have? PTI is great but it would ideally be under pinned by an L3 qualification. Also, a lot of companies want risk assessed using QTRA. Where are you based? What areas can you cover?

The LPA don’t usually have to display site notices for TPO apps so by default neither do you. They should consider displaying notices where there is likely to be a lot of public interest. The only exception is when they are applying to themselves to work on their own trees. In this instance they must display site notices for at least 21 days. It is their responsibility though, not yours. That said and as paul said, it’s good to keep them on side. I have had this issue previously and have just phoned the client to explain and then put them in the post.

The tree man is universal. I get called the tree man more than anything else.