Dominic Lee

Hey niceone for the replys! yes its an aerial highwire course & yes above a children's play area. I'm going to post what I'v written in my coursework which has what I feel are the main points about it but I'm as far from a solicitor as you can get. The whole liability thing does kick in I think tho once the fault/issue has been raised!? All tree work should be undertaken by Arb Approved or trusted contractor's, these terms are generally set out in the tender process. Selecting a good contractor ensures a high quality of the work is undertaken both aesthetic and biomechanically with longterm benefits to the tree ensuring future work or removal of the tree is prolonged or not needed. Having an understanding of a trees structural integrity and potential dangers helps to maintain high standards of health & safety within high use areas of the forest. Monitoring of tree health on recreation sites is ongoing throughout the year The installation of ''xcompanys'' highwires is not undertaken by the ''xcompanys'' staff or their Arb Approved contractors. This can be potentially dangerous to the tree and therefore members of public whilst also being aesthetically unpleasing if the contractor is unaware trees require care to increase safety and longevity, following good practice and work standards using non invasive structures/rigging does not negatively affect the health of the tree used for such recreation activitys. Therefore ensuring their longterm economic profit. The ''xcompany'' has a duty of care to ensure a high standard of work is carried out in accordance with The Health & Safety Act including work carried out by onsite licence holders both under the ''xcompany'' values & under part 1 of The Unfair Contract Act 1977 the ''xcompany'' it's self may also be liable in the event of a dangerous occurance resulting from negligence on the part of both licence holder and occupier. The conditions, standards and expectations should be set out and clearly explained to the licence holder prior to the commencement of work. I just don't know if I'm actually correct...laws are different for European contractors as they don't have to abide by the same H&S standards apparently. Comparative to the previous course its a horrid standard of work, add ontop of that according to other staff the entire installation was carried out with no hardhats on no photo's of that unfortunately But yeah if anyone has a definitive answer on the law side of it please let me know. (the bracing is not for the trees benefit purely for the highwire course - tho it would be some brilliant irony to see tree bracing on a weak limb next to a tree with chunks cut out of it to put a platform on)

This is why I'v asked here. From an engineering point of view the bore holes and cuts would be structural flaws if say it was a skyscraper instead of a tree. With the trees not all moving in a uniform way during high winds does the wire through the oak not act as a kind of saw? How would the whole duty of care thing play out if the top broke out onto a play area full of children? (cheers for getting the photo's working I will work out the embedding tomorrow)

I'm pretty unsure H&S/Legislation wise which is why I ask, to me it's safe for the time being I guess tho I thought the entire purpose of the bracing was that it's non-invasive? I feel pretty sorry for that oak especially if/when the wind picks up when it's got a number of other trees pulling against it. Hows that bore hole above a playground going to be doing in 1-2 years time? Surely this work can be done without drilling through a bunch of mature douglas?

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