Trees & Construction

Trees & Construction – Trees may be at risk of damage from construction activity close by, whether that be a garden project or house build, so they deserve due consideration at the outset of any project.

Your local planning authority (LPA) must consider trees – they are likely to be a material consideration in the planning process for development. Planning application forms require that you disclose the presence of trees or hedges on, or adjacent to the site that might be of significance in the landscape or affected by the proposed works. The LPA may require your application to be accompanied by a tree survey and other associated information to demonstrate trees can be retained and protected in a practical and sustainable manner.

British Standard BS 5837 2012  Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction – Recommendations documents the current “standard” for procedure, survey,  assessment and recommendation that is considered to represent best practice. Therefore, this document is used as the basis for reporting and tree protection within both the local planning framework and for wider tree protection matters.

This provides the base line survey data to identify trees and hedges located on or adjacent to the development site which may be affected by the scheme with reference to BS 5837:2012.  The output and reporting would usually include the following – tree location added to an existing land survey drawing; tree species, together with key dimensions of trunk diameter, canopy spread etc; an assessment of tree quality to guide priority for tree retention and minimum root protection area (RPA).

In order to establish the impact of your scheme on surrounding trees, you are likely to require additional assessment and planning services together with the adoption of appropriate specifications, work methods and supervision, as summarised below. Please contact us to discuss your scheme requirements.

An assessment of the survey output to identify constraints that trees may impose on their surroundings. This may include a comment on above-ground constraints such as future growth potential, shading, exposure to leaf and twig fall etc and below-ground constraints, including amendment to the standard radial distribution of root spread that may be imposed by historic site use or structures.

An assessment of the scheme impact to identify trees to be removed and trees to be retained /  protected. It considers the impact of retained trees on the scheme build, the requirement for pruning, protection and special meausures or procedures that may be required for their accommodation together with space restrictions imposed by trees which may affect working room / scheme buildability.

A drawing based upon the land survey and final scheme layout to illustrate site specific tree protection measures  / procedures, define site access points and identify areas to accomodate construction phase infrastructure. The TPP may include identification of areas for construction exclusion, position of  barriers with setting out dimensions, areas for temporary ground protection and notes to hi-light where special measures / procedures should be adopted.

A document to identify work sequencing appropriate for the protection of trees to be retained and the scheme build. This may include the timing of tree pruning work, installation of tree protection measures, and adoption of special methods, specifications, and procedures, together with arboricultural supervision and monitoring as necessary to demonstrate trees can be retained and protected in a practical and sustainable manner.

Supervision to ensure compliance with planning consent conditions (where imposed), tree protection methods and to resolve queries which may arise during the course of construction work.