Planning and Development
Development Sites and Trees
Whether you are a developer about to embark on a major new building project or a householder extending your property you will need to take into consideration any trees within 15m of the proposed building work. Remember, that, as tree roots do not respect property boundaries, this may include trees on neighbouring land.
Extensions/Landscaping Work Close to Protected Trees
The relatively shallow nature of most tree roots make them vulnerable to damage during building or landscaping projects. As a homeowner, you need to bear in mind that, even if the work you are planning does not require planning consent, if you have trees which are covered under Tree Preservation Orders or Conservation Area legislation you must take steps to protect those trees and their roots. Your Local Authority Tree Section (or, in some cases, the Authority Website) can confirm if you have trees which are subject to such legislation. As a Practice we have found ourselves increasingly involved in cases where clients have undertaken a project under Permitted Development rights (ie. no planning permission is required) and then face possible prosecution due to damage of a Protected tree.
Services Offered with regards to Development Work
Our Practice specialises in dealing with clients and Local Authorities with regards to planning and development projects. We try to balance the needs of our clients with the current legislation and all of our reports are undertaken to British Standard 5837:Trees in Relation to Construction, 2005 specifications. We can help from the initial Pre-planning Assessment stage right through to acting as Expert Witnesses with regards to tree issues should Planning Appeal issues need to be addressed.
- Pre-planning site appraisals
- Tree surveys and constraints plans (to BS5837 requirements)
- Arboricultural Impact Assessments
- Arboricultural Method Statements
- Site Supervision
- Planning Appeals and Expert Arboricultural Witness
