Paul73

Hi guys, After 20 years of submitting sections 211s this is a bit of a new one on me. To cut a long story short the notification was registered as valid. Nothing was heard for six weeks, then the LPA has belatedly issued me with a letter that that has a file name "non determination letter". The letter is dated within the six week period and says "This letter is to advise you that an assessment of your proposals has determined that a felling licence from the Forestry Commission is necessary. A felling licence application should be determined prior to the submission of a S211 notice" This is new to me. I thought that they were separate things. The LPA decides whether or not to place a TPO, the owner of the trees can decide whether to fell 5 cubic metres or less a quarter or apply for a felling license. Its like you need a permit to disturb badgers, you need to wait till birds stop nesting and you need the owner's permission to fell a tree but these things have nothing to do with the validity of a section 211 or the council's inability to do anything if they have not placed a TPO by the end of 6 weeks. Does anybody know if a felling license is a prerequiste for a section 211 or just a prerequisite for felling more than 5 cubic metres a quarter? Can a notification registered as valid be legally "non determined?" without "no objection" by default being the outcome? I am wondering if the LPA just hates the idea of letting me fell the trees, knows a TPO on a huge double screen of hybrid poplars and leylands at maturity would be ridiculous and so is hiding behind the FC hoping that, in order to get a felling license, a field of scrub ideal for infill development (which at present is not actually mooted but which would no doubt come to mind to some owner at some point) will end up getting a woodland classification? I would be very grateful of your thoughts guys. Thanks Paul

Thanks guys. This is just what I was looking for. So just to make sure I understand please, Riggerbear, when you say the top anchor is "a sling choked on itself" does that mean put the sling round the stem at least a couple of times and then put one end through the other in a sort of "giant Klemheist knot" before back to backing two carabiners on the loop that is left free? I am presuming that both the rescued and the rescuer set up similar top anchors and both stay on all throughout the rescue and that no one is worried about anchors having to be retrievable from the ground. As to the climbing up the pole are you saying that they could climb with a flip line and their normal climbing system clipped round the trunk as a back up -the running bowline choker and prussic to the bridge or the crossing of the climbing line may be a good idea on a scary stem but they are not obligatory? Cheers, Paul

Long ago when I was a gardener my employer sent me on a climbing course so I could do their trees. Spikes were not part of CS 38 in those days and I had never been on the internet at the time so when I needed spikes I just bought a pair, had a go and figured out how to use them. Fast forward a long way and I have a successful tree surgery business and I need to prepare some guys for the CS38 quiz. While I must be getting close to having spent 10,000 hours on spikes without even a minor scare, I also could, for all I know, have some bad habits that might not go down well on an NPTC quiz. So guys I would be really glad to know what is current best practise for a candidate for this test. Ideally if you are an NPTC assessor it would be great to hear from you but anyone who has taken the test recently or who teaches it would be good to talk to too. In particular I am interested to know what is best practise for building top anchors in the rescues and what is best practise in for a candidate to protect himself on the way up (how best to back up the flip line so it is not your only security). A link to diagrams would be great but also just an explanation of what methods of anchoring and protecting oneself are permissible would be very welcome. I don't want to be inadvertently teaching anyone to cut corners. Thanks in advance. Paul

Thanks

Thank you very much for the information. I am always keen to know up front what to expect so I can plan ahead, rather than end up researching and sourcing things when I have a break down at a busy time. What tool will I need for removing the anvil please? It looks like some sort of pulling tool or does one just screw a bolt in to it and apply leverage to the bolt head? Thanks

Hi Guys. I have just bought a Timberwolf 230DHB and am wondering what to expect to need to do about the anvil. I am used to having an adjustable anvil that I can get re-ground a few times. Since this one is not adjustable, can it be re-ground or does even one re-grind exceed the healthy gap tolerance? Roughly how many hours chipping clean wood with reasonably sharp blades should I expect to be able to run without needing to either replace or re-grind? Many thanks Paul

I would tape it round as tight as you can where you are going to cut (duct tape is ok, electrical tape too, probably any old tape). Then cut through the middle of the tape with a good sharp knife. The cut end will then be really nice and tidy and easy to heat seal. How you heat seal it will depend on what you have to hand -lighter is slow, blow torch pretty fast, piece of iron or table knife heated in the fire or gas ring all work (though your wife may complain if you seal a whole bunch of ends in the house). Basically get the ends hot enough to melt the fibers together and then before it cools roll it on a hard surface to make a really tidy end, instead of the big round melted lump you get if you just heat a cut end up or the sharp jagged kind of end you can sometimes get if you just cut with a hot knife.

Hi, I am looking for a skilled groundsman, who gets on well with customers and takes good care of tools. I am hoping to find someone who is interested in the long term. The work is an interesting mixture of domestic and commercial work. We rely on providing a good quality service and advertise only minimally, so it is important to be the kind of people who get asked back and recommended to others. Please reply explaining relevant experience and qualifications to [email protected]. Being interested in moving into climbing would be a bonus but is not essential. Look forward to hearing from you. Paul

Axe all the easy stuff, burn the big ugly knotty bits in my big fire place. But if I had more storage space ... I might keep my splitter closer and it might have been used in the last 4 years.

A vacancy for a self employed groundsman based in North Wiltshire/Bath. Wide ranging tree surgery work from big dismantles to small hedges with occasional site surveys and planting. Some tickets and an interest in learning to climb would be an advantage. While someone experienced would be ideal, I would be prepared to accept someone keen to start in the industry. Most work is within 15 miles of an SN13 post code. Contact Paul on 07891986663

Eddie, could you tell us what has happened to the lubrication? I recently started a new batch of Aspen and we were a bit dissapointed to find it now smells half as bad as Motor Mix! The old Castor oil smell was so much nicer. Is the new lubricant better, safer or cheaper? Personally I would swap any benefits for the old Castor smell again. Going to keep using Aspen though cos I think it is nicer than motor mix. Cheers, Paul