How Often Should I Have My Trees Surveyed?

Do I Need My Trees Surveyed?

oHort recommends that you have your trees surveyed at least once every two years. Most insurers and governing bodies recommend that trees are surveyed ‘regularly’ but often fail to provide more exact guidance. Claims can be made against a property on behalf of any individual.

There have been several occasions where organisations have been liable. One example of this is an incident in Birmingham where a 92-year-old woman was killed by a 60ft tree. An investigation took place and it was found that the tree had not been surveyed for over two years. Therefore, there was no relevant documentation on the overall health of the tree. This led to a fine of £150,000 being brought against the proprietor along with the possibility of civil proceedings against the landowner by the family of the deceased.

Similarly, in 2012, a woman who visited Kew Gardens was killed by a falling tree branch. However, Kew Gardens were not found to be liable. They were protected because the tree in question had been inspected 12 months before the incident. Due to the recent tree survey and completed tree risk assessment, the jury found “no identifiable cause of branch failure from this tree that caused this tragic accident.” This shows how important it is to get your trees surveyed regularly!

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Surveying Damaged Trees:

We also recommend that any damaged trees are surveyed as and when you notice the damage. Most commonly, damage is caused by storms or freak weather but may also be caused by animals or insects.

Finally, we advise that a tree survey is conducted before any construction or landscaping work is carried out on your site, to see whether the proposed work may affect your trees. A survey may also need to be carried out after the work, if you suspect any trees may have been affected during the project.

 

Contact Us Today

If any of the above applies to you, find out more about our tree surveys on our services page, or contact us to arrange a survey!

 

Reference – https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/16/woman-killed-falling-branch-kew-gardens-coroners-court-accidental-death

Subsidence – The Number 1 Property Nightmare

Subsidence is the sudden sinking or gradual downward settling of the grounds surface. This can be caused by natural processes or human activities. A recent study by Yes Homebuyers has revealed that subsidence is the number one property nightmare for homebuyers as it can devalue your home by up to 20%! According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average price of a house in the North East is £141,000, meaning you could have nearly £30,000 knocked off the price of your home due to subsidence!

SubsidenceOne of the most common causes of subsidence is trees. Clay soils often expand or shrink depending on the moisture content. During drier periods of the year trees tend to draw water from the soil, in turn causing the clay soil to shrink. As a result of this, the foundations of any neighbouring properties move, and cracks start to appear.

Typically, these cracks are 3mm wide and get wider closer to the bottom. Over time, these cracks continue to develop and can cause significant damage as they grow. Trees, bushes, and hedgerows amount to 60% of recorded cases of subsidence!

Here at ProHort we provide detailed tree related Subsidence Reports, identifying the cause of any subsidence (including pinpointing which tree is causing it) and offering any recommendations we feel necessary. If you have any concerns regarding tree related subsidence, please do contact us today!

Why Do You Need A LVIA?

Why Do You Need A LVIA?A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) identifies the effect that a new development will have on views and the landscape itself. But why do you need a LVIA?

To Avoid Any Controversy

LVIAs can highlight any potential risks to the environment – it is possible that developments may disrupt some animals’ habitats (e.g., causing them to lose access to water or nesting areas). If you are unaware of this before you start your development and do not take steps to avoid this happening, local conservationists may start to protest against your developments. This can subsequently cause project delays and possibly even give your company a negative reputation.

To Help Your Planning Application

If your LVIA helps your local authority to see that your project will cause no harm to the environment and will not impact the aesthetics of the area, they may be more likely to grant you the planning permission. It is likely that you may be asked to provide an LVIA as part of the planning application anyway!

To Save You Time and Money

Having an LVIA completed allows you to consider all options properly and carefully before commencing with a development. Starting a development project without considering these options opens you up to the risk of an aspect of the development not going as planned and, therefore, needing to be changed. By identifying any potential issues before the developments begin, this will save you both money and time.

Landscape DevelopmentsBy having an LVIA assessment, you can put steps in to place to ensure that the process from planning to completion of the development is as smooth as possible, causing minimal distress and annoyance. If you are starting to work on a new development, contact us today to discuss how we can help, or visit our Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment page to find out more.

New App Leads To Increase In Concern About Trees

The online app, TreeTalk, has found a 50-fold increase in users since the start of lockdown in March 2020 – it is used to plot, map, and highlight the mature trees that are located within the London area. This increase in awareness has led to more requests for preservation than ever, and more outrage when trees are removed. Have you got a concern about trees?

Tree Benefits:

Concern about treesTrees on our streets have a variety of benefits, including:

  • Supporting local wildlife.
  • Reducing urban flooding by controlling the water level in the area.
  • Reducing temperatures in heatwaves (by providing shade).
  • Lowering issues associated with asthma (as the leaves trap pollution).
  • Improving mental health and wellbeing. Numerous studies have shown that spending time around trees or looking at trees can reduce blood pressure as well as slowing the release of the stress hormones of cortisol and adrenaline.
  • Reducing crime. According to studies, a 10% increase in mature trees led to a 12% decrease in crime. It is suggested that this is due to the fact that an area with more mature trees signals to criminals that the houses are better cared for and therefore subject to more effective policing by owners.

Trees are felled by councils and private companies every day for a variety of reasons. This can be for property development, preserving infrastructure (e.g., tree roots can affect roadways) or in response to concerns regarding health and safety.

tree surveyTree surveys will provide you with a detailed analysis of each tree surveyed, including the trees age, condition, and any risk it poses to development or to the public. If you do need to request that a tree is taken down, you will need to be aware that a mature tree will provide the benefits listed above. However, a sapling will often lack the height, foliage, or size to have as significant an impact. We would always recommend consulting with your local authority regarding any felling proposals and ensuring that a suitable replacement tree (of an appropriate size) is replanted at the same or a nearby location.

Contact Us If You Have A Concern About Trees

If you require a tree survey, as part of your development or to submit to your local authority, ProHort can help you. We can also recommend suitable trees to plant as replacements, to ensure your community continues to feel the benefits that trees can reward.