sbyorkshire

Dying or perhaps decling tree does not (normally) be suitable for a TP0, its ameinty value shall be detailed (by a method) and provided at the time of the the TPO, provisonal, I would suggest contacting the LPA legal department to ask'when ' the amienty assessmrnt was actually made as we often have them 'post' dated to the TPO, ie the tree offier trying to back track. Lets just be honest not cloak and dagger, is the tree 'worthy' oF TPO, if so prove it , time stamped at the right time of issue not manilpulated to cover your ar..e,,, by an ameinty valuation method (would be brilliant if an agreed system but a system that has transprancey and detailed to allow interrogation) done with transprancey that all qualified assesors can more or less agree on would be a major step forward. Lets stop the manilpulation of 'truths' and perhaps the tree owners will trust the system and 'protect' more worthy trees, if they are not worthy lets just get tree owners to 'love' trees so they will plant more 'anyway' irrelevant of whether they are are 'made' to. The manipulation just makes garden/land owners hate trees ! Rant over, maniplulating the system just gives a bad taste to tree surgeons, tree surveyors, tree owners, and they will come out fighting, the result, less trees...............

In reply to John comments, who I hold in very high regard, Yes , go on training courses get experience, but make sure you have insurance that covers you for subsidence surveys reporting. As ever people want a cheap report, but it is not worth the risk if you if you are not trained in that specilaist area, CAS - Consultiing Arborist Society will be running courses soon, other providers are available too, do not undertake these specialist reports without training,you have been warned.!The more you say with out knowing what you are saying will trip you up, as John rightly says.

Never trust the client, even the little old dears................. Check for yourself - always. Given an approval letter, check the ref on line.

We have been dealing with a few on behalf of the tree owner, trying to counter their own insurance companies from clear felling their gardens, and we try as I believe you are trying to do, get to the correct cause of the problem. If tree removal was really , really expensive they indeed would look at the other aspects such as drain leakage, but because removal is cheap (in comparison to the drain repairs for example) the trees go, clients if the tree owners are reluctant to lock horns with their own insurer and tend to be passive and 'do as they are told', as they often cant afford not to. If there was a cost value in £ to the tree, perhaps a different decision would be made, or even the correct decision for the stability of the site. We have to deal with the legislation we have, and that , even though it is meant to protect trees in fact lets them down badly in s211 notices in these cases as mentioned above a 'threat' of a TPO unless you provide what we feel acceptable will get some to do so if time frames allow, though those hard nosed insurers will play the game and won't................

Thermal cameras can have a use for fungal activity which can not be seen by the 'naked' eye, we use thermal cameras in combination with other diagnostic tools. You would not (in our opinion) just use a thermal camera, it is used as another tool to aid the decision process and gives indications of vascular and fungal 'activity'. I hope that helps. If you would like more info get in touch.

A soil test would be required as 'proof' , if sandy soils not subsidence. Perhaps the engineers know this or not already ? You can take the samples and submit for testing but they need interpreting by someone who can understand them(some arbs can some cannot)and this needs to be done with liaison with the engineers. If this is a claim of direct damage, by roots a possibility on shallow foundations / defective foundations where roots enter and then 'move' lintels/ supports internally, we have had this in an old cottage where internal lintels were moving not the overall property. Sometimes roots can be removed and root barriers used if the trees stability wont be affected and that the insurance company will accept a barrier, which is not always the case. Consider, sands, drain issues , springs, soils............ or the fact that the damage is poor rendering.........if there is any 'damage'.

If the property is in receivership, the property is owned by the receiver, albeit they will be trying to get rid off it for a profit , therefore as the owner is 'known', the LPA are very unlikely to deal with it under the local government (miscellaneous provisons) Act, as that would be spending local tax payers money on a privately owned 'asset' . Notify the 'owner', if known , post letter of your concerns through the letter box and copy to LPA. Check your own insurance that you are covered for 'tree damage' and provide them with the details of the property they will then advise you on how to best proceed in regards protecting your asset. Monitor the lean without trespassing, by photographs so you have some evidence (or not) of progressive movement. Your concern re tree and foundations is different to 'tree falling risk'.

It is also proving or not as the case maybe, is the tree destabilised. There are tests for this dynamic or static testing.

The important point is 'imminent danger'............... see below, if the property has been repossessed someone owns it and they are therefore liable for the trees. I would suggest as the third party (you are not the tree owner) to contact your insurers and take their advice and follow this, to protect yours (and theirs) asset the miscellaneous provisions act is rarely used, and it looks very likely that the current owner is easily traceable even if it is a bank and your insurer would have a set procedure for such a case etc.... LOCAL GOVERNMENT (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 1976This Act allows the Council to deal with dangerous trees located on private land. Trees are the responsibility of the person who owns the land on which they are growing. However, if a tree on private land becomes dangerous in a way that could harm someone else or their property and the owner does not appear to be doing anything about it, the Council may act to make the tree safe. This can be by serving a notice on the owner to make the tree safe or, in exceptional circumstances, the Council can deal with the tree themselves and recover costs from the owner. These powers are used as a last resort and are only intended for situations when there is an imminent danger.

Conservation Area - also listed buildings can be a problem ..........

We scan and send to the client for them to put up, if they dont, it's at their risk of it been checked and can cause delays. Non-determination if not decided in time (TPO), The LPA don't like this against their 'performance '...................stats.

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Online applications take under 10 mins and you have a history of what you have sent.