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Chris at eden

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Everything posted by Chris at eden

  1. 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.
  2. Hi tree, I just emailed them to find out, I will let you know what they say. Cheers,
  3. 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.
  4. It looks like they do a bespoke package for 5837 plans.
  5. Can you import PDF and DWG files and then just edit?
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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,
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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,
  14. The word tree is not defined in law and the closest thing in planning terms would be from the TPO guidance. That is anything which would normally be considered to be a tree, according to the high court. Its the same reason why TPO's prevent lopping and topping as appose to pruning as the later is not defined in law but there is some old highways law that discusses lopping to clear the highway. I digress!!! It seems the question is do you consider it to be a tree? Personally I have never seen a TPO'd palm tree so I would use that as the indicator. I would always include them on a 5837 survey though but in reality they would probably be cat C.
  15. If the tree and the path are under the same ownership then there is no reason why the LPA cannot protect the tree as actionable nuisance would not apply. That said, if they refused an application they run the risk of taking on liability. Dozens of court cases not to mention the joint mitigation protocol have demonstrated that engineering solutions must be considered and not just felling. I dont know the situation but it may be possible to grade the path up and over for example or divert. If it isn't then the TPO application should demonstrate why. Rule out all the alternatives to felling and you should be on to a winner. If you cant you may not be. It may also be useful to do a CAVAT value against the cost of engineering solutions if the tree is not the best specimen as part of the app. I did a report a while ago where the council were suggesting putting a no dig drive in at the front so a street tree could be retained, it was damaging the existing drive. No way it could be done as the cellweb would have to be 100mm + the wearing course on top so it couldn't meet the highway without digging. As for replanting the guidance says at the same place, not in the same place so in theory this could be interpreted to mean say in the front garden. Then you may be able to replant. If the LPA force an expensive engineering solution though i would think they run the risk of taking on liability for some of the costs. Interesting case, let us know how it turns out. Cheers,
  16. They get Phytophthora sometimes. If you send some pics to Alice Holt they will give you some basic feedback. Or at least they used to.
  17. Felling and stump removal is covered by section 12 of the standard although not very well.
  18. We had a Dyson, pile of crap, £300 as well. Two week old and the dog chewed the plug off. Fixed it no probes.. It was always pretty rubbish though from new so it got binned We bought a thing called a Bissel off amazon for about £120, it's bonkers no joke. You actually get knackered using it, have to push it with two hands and it looks like a tank. On the up side it ridiculous how much stuff it pulls out the carpet. If you can cope with the work out they well worth a look. I got two labs and not a hair in the house.
  19. Or 1 or 5 also. Look like Corsican to me.
  20. Sorry, meant to say non determination.
  21. Not really, they will validate as a desk exercise based on a plan being provided. They won't know if it any good until they visit the site. At that point they should seek clarification. In this instance they haven't responded for whatever reason. Its easy to blame the TO but if the consultant had done his job properly there wouldn't be an issue. You could go for none validation with confidence. That said if the report is ok you still could. One of the biggest problems for TO's is the poor standard of reports produced by the industry from some people trying to make a quick buck. I've seen TPO evidence that says reduce beech by 50% as the tree is top heavy. Not even joking. You end up going to appeal on stuff like that which all adds to the workload. AIA's are the biggest problem. Generic rubbish that in no way relates to the site is pretty common. You end up reading and consulting on the same thing 8 times and it still isn't right. I had a tree surgeon insisting that his report was accurate in a meeting one day. The survey said the RPA was something like 10m but his plan plotted it at about 6m which by coincidence was just short of the footprint. When I aske which was accurate he said both. Even when I showed him with a scale rule he still wouldn't have it. At this point the architect was looking pretty annoyed but not at me. Its not always the TO's fault. On the flip side I've had a TO suggest that I had under estimated a 15m RPA. That's not even possible. The industry is mad sometimes.
  22. I agree with Ed, the regs are clear on this and its not a courtesy. The only exception to the five day notice would be where the risk of serious harm is immediate. An example would be a large hanger over the road at the weekend. In that case you could do retrospective but you better be sure and have the evidence. Dead trees in the woods, five day would be my advice.
  23. Its borderline maladministration. If the validated the application there must be a plan otherwise they should not have. If its vague, they should refer back to you asking for clarification within the 8 weeks. At that I would go back to the surveyor and ask him to clarify, that is what he is paid for. I rarely get anything back from planning for my reports but if I do I clarify at no cost to the client. It would be my oversight. If they don't I wouldn't use them again. There is no duty to replace protected trees in woodlands when they die so don't do that part as an application. Do it as Gary says as a 5 day notice. If you do it as an application they could condition it. It would probably be overturned under appeal but why go there. Remember your 5 day notice has to be in writing and contain enough information to ID the trees. Cheers,
  24. When I did L4 it was on the old tech cert version which was exam based. Workload was fine and didn't have a problem with the step up. I had already done national certificate a few years earlier as a full time course. That is L2 and similar format to RFS. I didn't think there was any difference between ISA and NC really. ISA is already recognised in the UK as it is on the QCF. The new L4 and L6 are formatively assessed by portfolio production. You have to hit 100% of the assessment criteria. I can't comment on L4 but the workload for L6 is horrendous. I did choose to complete in 2 years though and in reality you can take up to five so don't be scared by that. On the up side the learning is unbelievable and well worth the effort. You get so much more from it than exam based. There is also a L2 version of the above which is run by ABC same as the other two by portfolio. Worth considering as it bolts on to L4 & 6. Speak with Dave at tree life. Tell him you are looking at L4 with him at some point and ask his advice on the best route. That would be my advice.

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