averagearborist

You've highlighted the conflict right here - ease of development and economic growth against environmental preservation, regulation, enforcement and the drawbacks of the necessary bureaucracy to do this.

Personally, I think this is backwards. It removes incentive to retain trees and make informed decisions about trees as part of a development. Moreover, it encourages developers to remove potentially valuable trees to avoid added costs, delays and complications.

I think the system as it stands is a major contributor to environmental degradation.

To summarise and confirm - trees on a site for development with no protection status can be felled prior to applications for development.

While development sites 'should' give consideration existing trees, there is no statutory enforcement of this consideration.

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Pro climber training are a great option. They are who I trained with and can't recommend them enough.  They provide a 6 week fast track course where you will do all your ground/aerial assessments and training back to back (Including first aid, MEWP, Stump grinder & Chipper). You will also get 40 hours in class theory about tree law, pruning, biology etc. 
 
I know they are nowhere near Devon, but they provide accommodation and food for the whole 6 weeks included in the package price. We had people from all over the UK and a guy from France staying when I did my training.  

Alright dude?

I did the same thing about 6 years ago - changed career to tree work. I did the 10 week tree course at Otley college. I lodged in a nearby house for the time i was there. You get your basic 4 tickets and a level 3 subsidiary diploma in arboriculture ans forestry. This is a enough to start in thr industry as a trainee.

If you can afford the time away from home I'd do it. You learn basic biology, biomechanics, trees in the built environment, forestry and woodland management, pests and diseases as well as the practical elements.

While doing the NPTC tickets as individual courses is a cost effective way in, you will lack the wider understanding of trees. Learning on the job can be unreliable - the stuff I've heard some people come out with about trees is unbelievable, sometimes from people who have been cutting for years.

@Dan Maynard  have seen a few Ash  trees that were drought failures rather than ADB recently,   quite young ones thou, but remember Inonotus taking out Ash years n years ago . Seems so prevalent now its an easy assumption . K

Just from the picture, it looks pretty minor. From picture it also looks like there is lots of functional luving wood all around the stem. Oaks and other trees are quite happy and safe living with fungi. If the growing conditions are good - plenty of water, fertile soil, other trees nearby, it will manage the fungal pathogen into its next life stage.

If you are still concerned, get a tree condition survey done by a reputable surveyor or consultant.

You had the arrogance to have a go at Mick because he didn't go off and read your document or acknowledge your self-professed expertise. There are other reasons to deal with peceptions of SBD, whatever that actually is.
 
I didn't get banned from UKTC, I left. You got barred, as I recall, then re-registered to get round the bar. That was weird. Haven't thought about it since.
 
I'm not pursuing anyone. You made indecent sexual and libellous comments on UKTC, not me. I left. You come on Arbtalk to promote yourself, nothing else. I'm on here frequently on a whole variety of subjects. I can't get away from you, not that you're of any consequence. Its a rough and ready place that doesn't tolerate transparent twats. Away back to the hamster wheel.

Ivy is good stuff. Trees and ivy are fine together. However, if it is thick in the canopy, going on to higher lateral branches, it can cause some issues.

If the ivy is a problem, sever it. Clear the ivy in a 30 cm ring all the way around the main stem of the tree (be careful not to cut into the tree itself).

The ivy will die and slowly decompose, giving the tree time to readjust and all the wildlife to move out.

Do not use herbicides at the base of the tree as this may affect the trees' health.

If I was you I'd aim a bit higher and go for a level 5 or 6 qualification. The "Sc" or equivalent after your name opens doors.

I did the level 4 with Treelife in a year....was great, got a massive amount from it....it was classroom based at westonbirt arboretum (15 classes or so) massive workload if you want to wrap it up in a year...I think it was 83 asignments in total...some being short multiple choice online quizzes, but most being essays -  on average each assignment took at least 5 hours...
 
Balanced it with work ok as I am self employed so the jobs I did the same amount of work as in a normal year but in less days as I ran 3-4 man day teams rather than 2-3 man dayers.....It defo helped to have at least 2 days a week doing college work or I wouldn't of got it done in a year.
 
Nearly every arb consultancy firm I have seen advertising looking for juinor/starter consultants/ surveyors only request a level 4  qual......having said that I would love todo level 6 at some stage but very glad I did level 4 first.

This does not seem like an appropriate species in an appropriate place. It would not be viable long term because of the size and spread and how this would encroach on the surrounding building and features. Perhaps an oversite by the planners.

Please be care full with giving them notice to quit. Even when no way leaves are in place, 2 years notice to quit is needed. And even when you have gone down this route remember electric companies will be as awkward as any one in not wanting to do this. They do have statutory powers which they rarely use but can. I know from spending over 4 years messing about with muppets at Northern electric. Remember most of them are unfortunate ly jobs worth you would not employ to pick the broom handle from floor. One tact that can work but can be interpreted as aggressive is treating to remove poles by felling them. Yes slightly dangerous with live line but can be safely done. They do not Want work or interruption to supply. All said and done if only few trees by low voltage, a live line worker can work 1m from 1kv line so you could insist they are sensitive ly trimmed every 2 years. 

Utility arb work is all dependant on the proximity distances between the tree and live wires and the qualifications of the people doing the work. Sometimes any work requires a shut down .
 
There is provision in the legislation for a landowner to do the necessary work and charge for it but you would have to comply with all the safety requirements of the Distribution Network Operator, Electricity Northwest in this case.
 
They will want to remove all branches  from near to the live wire and a bit more to allow for "resilience" for the next five years..
You are better off asking that they do the work to British Standard for tree work 3998 as was and not allow the use of climbing irons if the tree is to be retained. Utility arbs have spikes permanently attached to their boots.

My experience in utilities are that the distributors generally do their best to accommodate the needs of people with electrical equipment on their property. If the trees are in some way important to the land owner, cutting for clearance can be limited or minimised. If you make your feelings and concerns known, they will take extra care in pruning. As someone said, insist work is be carried out to a BS3998 standard, which (despite what people may say) is what distributors stipulate their arborists work to if possible.

Pruning to gain sufficient clearance will not unbalance the trees or make them dangerous - it is in the distributors interest that the trees remain safe. Reducing spread by a few metres will not adversely affect the trees' long term viability.

All that said, the circumstances and tree condition very much dictate what work must take place, the end results and aesthetics. If it's LV, it is unlikely they will be taking more that 2 or 3 meters off the spread of your trees. LV work is probably the least intrusive electrical utility work.

Pretty tough. I've seen a pretty hefty bit of leyland bounce off. I'd say they were as flexible as phone lines, but a bit tougher. It might have been luck that it didn't get plucked out, mind. I do not know repair costs or if they will drop them for you.

Well, if a deffy can take 1100kg of chip why buy a transit that can take 700kg
Defenders can be all up 3380
Transit can be 3500.
 
Doesn't sound like much but 4394 on a defender before you go to court, 4550 on a transit. It's also about axle weights too. 
 
I know what you're saying about weight, we're always overloaded but it's what it can handle. A transit seems to handle it. A 130 with the weight over the back? Not so sure. It's all fun and games till you have an accident and the copper asks questions

And talking weight, who cares about weight? Working for massive companies with health and safety obsessions, one man bands without a care, and my own thing, always rolling over loaded. I haven't got a 7.5 tonne license... Same for everyone without grandad rights, right?

I know what it is. The look of the defender is timeless. My Mk4 hilux looks like a fckin old as fook truck from the late 90s - i mean i think it looks proper sick imo, but it definitely looks from times gone by. Not the defender. Somehow they still look the part where ever they roll.

does your hilux take more chip or about the same?

Ok, as nothing else is going on I’ll bite.
 
The problem with them is lack of capacity, they don’t hold half as much as a cheap transit, this costs you time and money. Fully laden they’re like driving a boat, I know springs and stuff helps but the narrowness of the chassis and single rear wheels means they’re not happy with lots on the rear compared to a dedicated 3.5tonner.
The unreliability is a factor of course but I’m not going into that.
They're expensive to buy/convert, you could get a decent transit/cab star whatever and still have change for a 4wd to take your chipper off road if needs be, or even a little wheeled loader to drag stuff/move the chipper.
If you are going off road you can just blow the chips in the woods anyway.
 
Having said that I’m taking delivery of a Def next week that’ll be a tow tug and Fanny Magnet. But I’d never rely on one for my business, I’ll keep the Ranger.

Such a good idea! The outer 'shell' is always the first thing to get ripped up and the cargo pockets always get ripped off. But the pfanners are really nice trousers and they really endure. They're the only trousers i have that have gotten worn out, rather than ripped. I love the old stihl hi flex - like trackies innit. But when the ass and crotch split out (which doesn't take too long) they get relegated to wet-weather-under waterproofs only. Can't show that blinding white thigh to the customers.

Isn't it mad that running an overloaded to the max truck is just standard in tree work. Even proper big proper companies - you just have to.

I’d go for this sort to avoid losing chip space.

Just started my new 8010 this afternoon for the first time - feels very good and smooth. Will get to use it properly next week so will see how it goes [emoji106]