Chris at eden

It would take a very long time to occlude a wound of that size and once it has the position may be worse. Jeremy Barrell has been writing some interesting articles about summer branch drop and how it may be linked to large occluded wounds. You often get decay develop unseen once occluded. I did an aerial inspection of a mature oak last summer which had a tiny hole in the centre of a wound wood doughnut. When I checked with a cane it went in over a metre before my probe ran out. Another consideration with removing a limb of that size is the effect it may have on the way that the tree deals with wind loading through mass damping. It must be a sizable branch so its removal must alter the way the remaining parts move. If they aren't optimised to deal with this you may get secondary failures. Additional pruning may therefore be required.

I know, that's what I mean by woolly. Mine says L3 also but I landed a job which required an L5 qualification a few years ago with TC. The industry has always given TC more credit than other L3's such as National Diploma. I've done both and they are not the same level, nowhere near. I've just finished L6 and I would recommend this route to anyone, especially with the new way of assessment. Lot of work but well worth it.

Yes it is although a bit woolly. The L4 is a direct replacement so the old TC is now L4 by default I think.

The post nominal for tech cert is Tech Cert (ArborA), not to be confused with TechArborA which is technician membership of the AA.

Yes mate. They dont do it anymore. Not much demand so it didn't justify the cost for support apparently. There is a company called pear technology do one but its just over £700. That's the cheapest I have found.

I would second that, I also completed L6 this year as well as doing the old tech cert and PTI with them about 8 years ago. Top training provider. Congrats on the PTI.

Not a good approach in my opinion. At some point you have to e-mail the pics to the TO so why not do it 5 days before you do the work. That way when the locals phone to complain, which they will, the council will know all about it and can just say 'its fine, the tree is dead'. Doing it retrospectively not only does not comply with the legislation but will also mean the TO has to drop everything and drive out to see what is happening and then deal with the fall out from the residents. Its not the way to build a relationship with the council. If you gain the TO's trust by playing ball things tend to go more smoothly in the future. Retrospective notices should be for emergency work only.

No worries mate, its a good debate. My view would be that the tree had been destroyed in terms of its visual amenity by having the crown removed with no chance of re-gen to replace as future amenity. Remember destroying a tree in TPO terms is more about visuals than obliterating the tree. I dont think you could condition it but the TO would be pretty stupid to process it as an application. If it was me, i would write back saying i accept your application as your 5 day written exemption notice and that you could proceed. I would then say that as the amenity of the tree had been destroyed by the works, you are required to replace in accordance with 206 blah blah blah. I dont know of anyone testing it so i could be wrong but i've been through a few planning appeals and i dont thinks the inspector would support an appeal against a TRN in this instance. Its just not the intention of the legislation in my opionion.

I take it you haven't done the assignment on tree protection legislation yet, its a good one. Domestic gardens are on land designated as residential, no FC interest. If its greenbelt or even an industrial estate, you need a felling licence.

I agree, badgers are protected by separate legislation and I don't see what is exceptional about trees or badgers in the Greenbelt. Its not really appropriate to have woodland TPO's within domestic gardens either.

Nice idea but you would still have to replace it I think. The LPA could not condition it, but section 206 requires that trees are replaced if they have been removed, uprooted or destroyed either in contravention, or because they are dead or present an immediate risk of serious harm. The LPA could argue that the tree had been destroyed in the interests of amenity by the works to stabilise its condition. You could try ignoring it and appealing the TRN but I doubt the PINS inspector would have much sympathy.

Ooooooooooohhhh, looks who's doing the planning unit. I already got my diploma, so I can write any old rubbish now. A local tree surgeon was trying to tell me yesterday that deadwood isn't exempt any more cos you have to submit a notice. Missed the point I think. Yeah I know, its like when Tesco give you just enough time to sus out where everything is and then move it!!!!! Most annoying.

5 day exemption notices have to be submitted in writing unless the risk is immediate (e.g. hanging branch over the road) in which case you can provide info retrospectively. Remember the burden of proof for exemption sits firmly with you and the tree owner though. I would do it by e-mail and include photos and a plan.

Hi tree, I just emailed them to find out, I will let you know what they say. Cheers,

Qualifications that are listed on the QCF or formerly the NQF are recognised internationally. This is why the new chainsaw and climbing tickets are all assessed at level 2 or 3 on QCF to make them more transferable.

It looks like they do a bespoke package for 5837 plans.

Can you import PDF and DWG files and then just edit?

I'm not a fan of those lists that are based on incidence, they can be miss leading. For example oak is attacked frequently if it happens to be one of the very common English species. Holm oak on the other hand is resistant as not as many cases have been reported to rhs. Holm oak is no where near as prolific as the native oak so you wouldn't expect as many reported ceases. Just my opinion. Glynn Percival has done some interesting work on reducing the impact on HF. Its associated with sub-optimal soil conditions from what I remember so soil improvement is a must. De-compaction for a start and he uses a treatment, trichoderma I think. Worth a look.

Good points I’m sure Jon, but it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done if we are to move forward as an industry, a trade, and a profession. Not saying it’s easy, as if it was someone would have already done it. I for one would be really interested to read your paper if you finished it. Arb is a bit of a joke when you compare it with other professions in my opinion. Engineers have designed and built the international space station, physicists are attempting to perfect nuclear fusion, and yet Arb’s can’t decide what a tree is!!!! Not good in my opinion. It’s not as if the question doesn’t come up in conversation, I’ve been asked dozens of times by clients what it is that makes a tree a tree. It’s not great to say it’s not defined in law. I had a gardener who trained at Kew on one occasion tell me I couldn’t TPO some newly planted trees as they were not classed as trees until they reached 30ft. What is that about!!! Try telling his client though, the response is, he worked at Kew, he must know more than the TO.

The original question was is a palm tree, in fact a tree. That is what my answer was in relation to, wording. I'm not saying you don't need consent to prune, just that the wording in law says something different. My real point is that it about time someone defined the word prune or tree in law. That was all I was saying really. The regs were reviewed in 2012 and they didn't bother to address this, why!!! Sorry if this caused some confusion.

Whilst I agree they are not what a forester would call a tree I would still include them. 5837 is not about timber production, its about assessing the impact on visual amenity of the site caused by the development in terms of landscape/trees. Alternatively, you could just ask the LPA if they want them included, they may be happy for them to be plotted as a group. Cheers,

Another point from paragraph one is that the TPO is a direct constraint on development potential so that is kind of a strange comment to make.

Estate agents overstate what they are in my opinion. If you want information on what you can Build in accordance with current planning guidance speak with a planning consultant. I'm not a planning expert but I cannot see why you could not change a bungalow to a house within green belt if there are other houses in the vicinity and the footprint stays at a similar size. Its not increasing density or out of context with the street scene. Green belts are not what they used to be in my experience. I just did a development site survey for 25 dwellings in the green belt and the planning dept have given the unofficial nod. The current government are pro-development to say the least as they see the building trade as the way out of the recession. If the council refuse consent you could always appeal to planning inspectorate who are effectively central government. As I said I am a tree consultant so don't take that as an expert opinion its just my experience of late. First step speak with a planning consultant, see what can be done if that is what you are looking for. Remember if there is an opportunity to build you may be able to sell with outline or full consent and get more money for the land. Worth considering but there is no guarantee.

No need for post code, I've found it. The group to the rear is highly visible from Downham Road to the west so I doubt planning committee will go for the lack of visibility. If they confirm you could apply to fell some of the trees but maintain the screen on the rear boundary. If they refuse you appeal to the planning inspectorate. You have more chance of getting that in my opinion.

The area order should be interim only, its is unlikely they will confirm like that, or at least they shouldn't. They should resurvey and decide what needs protecting and what doesn't and then re-designate as individuals, groups or woodlands. The problem they will have is that woodland is rarely suitable in a garden area and there are too many for there to be individual. They will most likely count them up and modify to a group when they confirm. It looks like the main visibility will be from the road to the east but remember that trees can be protected for their future amenity as well as current. This basically means that they can be protected even if you cant see them at present but if you will be able to in a few years. What is the postcode? I will have a look on street scene and give you an opinion on visibility. Cheers,