JSN

Don’t go yet I’m curious about the rationale for the work. 

1 hour ago, Whoppa Choppa said:

1) FC SPHN conditions.

Presumably there was some pest or disease that made the FC require clear felling and stump removal? 

The book that made it all make sense and one that I consistently recommend is Trees: Their Natural History by Peter Thomas. 

Bless - I guess his heart is in the right place, but unfortunately it’s poorly executed, clueless, deluded, ****************wittery -  - par for the course in this day and age.

A consequence of giving them all winners medals at sports day?

To quote Terry Pratchett - 

“If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

Ah! My mistake - I didn’t notice the rigging! 

Highly unnecessary though I’m calling it  - groundsman’s fault / lack of communication. 
Fair do’s to take it big, but the lad on the ground was too eager moving in  - he’d of been safe(ish) if he stopped still.  

1 hour ago, john87 said:

you can to abate a nuisance.. No court needed there..

 
It’s as if Dr Charles Mynors is in the room 😉

Who do you think has the power to decide what constitutes a nuisance? 

I wouldn’t have done it that differently other than cutting the stakes down to just beyond the stem and positioning the ties correctly. 
 

Red line is where it will rub - the tie should go between the stem and stake at this point. 
 

For me this lack of due care and attention spoils the job. 

It’s the easiest job in the world to criticise someone else’s work and effort, but those stakes are too big and the tree ties are poorly positioned.  The trees will rub against the posts in the wind causing long term bark and stem damage. 
Why go to all the trouble and expense to put the trees in the ground just to ruin the job with poor staking technique.  Makes the whole thing a pointless waste of time and really boils me. 

Very lucky - everybody’s had one or two that just gets away from them, but looks cavalier at best judging from the space available.  When I was starting out you’d send a young’un, (usually me), into the road to stop the traffic.  

1 hour ago, woody paul said:

Spec would be just hack it back. Consent not needed as it's just been do near me and what a mess they have left trees in. 

They will not be interested in day rate.

Span rate then? 

What’s the spec? 
Have they obtained consent for the work? 
Probs best on day rate. 

1 hour ago, Mick Dempsey said:

What do you think the average life span of the hunter gatherer was?

Life span only began to rise relatively recently. 

25 minutes ago, Doug Tait said:

There's a theory that I find quite persuasive, that future historians will consider the Agricultural Revolution to be the beginning of the decline of our species and the wider environment.

We went from evolutionary well adapted hunter gatherers, living a healthy lifestyle within the natural eco system, involving physical exercise that suited us well and a balanced varied diet, procreating at a sustainable level, to the opposite. A species of slave workers tied in to surviving on a handful of average food sources, desperate for more and more numbers to carry out the endless repetitive labour (which affects our health so negatively) in an attempt to continue supplying the basics our inflated species 'survives' on.

Yep - I’ve always suspected that Borlaug has a lot to answer for. 

59 minutes ago, Doug Tait said:

Do any of the professional tree people (sorry I don't know what you call yourselves) on here agree that Ivy has recently become the most widespread and threatening invasive plant ever identified in the history of botany

You beat me to this one. 

In that case - Frost damage? Is it in a frost hollow? Possible root rock from storm Arwen? 
Obvs clutching at straws and doubtful but a possibility nonetheless.  Also could be individual pest / disease. 
If genuinely concerned / interested, you could report to Forest Research. 

Given the range of species and location, my first thought would be abiotic, so herbicide drift / salt spray / root disturbance from utility trenching and the like. 
Any of these fit with what you saw?

If it’s 30mph or below, cones and signs should be sufficient.  Usual caveats apply, ie, all operatives should be trained and competent for the task in hand, so holding a current street works qualification. 
If it’s above 30, you could ask to have the whole lane off under lights and just pull one head in, reducing the overall length, as you clear each street light. 

It could be bacterial wet wood / slime flux. 

54 minutes ago, carlos said:

would anyone consider a harder prune than in the ops photos??

Yep - One option would be to monolith it and hope a new crown forms.  Don’t really see the point in removing the live crown, leaving all that timber that still requires annual incremental growth.  

Unfortunately that’s impossible to answer without seeing the tree and carrying out a thorough inspection.  However, that said, BBD isn’t usually a problem until it’s in an advanced stage, where it has ‘killed’ large amounts of bark, but by which time secondary pathogens may well be an issue in your declining tree. 
If in any doubt about your trees health / stability, it’s best to commission an independent inspection and report to establish the situation. 
In the meantime you could scrub the scale insect off with a stiff brush and mild detergent - I’ve also heard that it can be pressure washed off, but never done it myself. 

Yes I would say so - the white patches are from the scale insect, which is the vector for the disease, (the red patches).

https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/beech-scale

https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/1987/03/fcbu069.pdf

If you zoom in on the crown, the zig zaggy twigs give it away.  Time I’ve checked a book - hairy twigs suggest English Elm. 

Elm?

Viburnum and Privet?