Tree Surgery Case Studies

The Timmins Tree Surgery team have been supporting the businesses and residents of the North East for many years, below are some of our Tree Surgery Case Studies.

Whatever issue you may be facing with your trees, whether they are affecting your business or your home, contact us or call us at 07741 674949 today for a free consultation to see how we can help or send us a message online and a member of the team will contact you back.

Morpeth Old Library

Brief

We were contacted by a demolition contractor who were undertaking work on behalf of a Local Authority. They needed three trees removing as quickly as possible in order to facilitate the demolition works.

These three trees were classed as either dead or dying and they needed them removing in order to ensure that a car park on this site was ready for use and only had a limited time frame in which to get these works completed.

Solution and outcome

In order to ensure that these works were completed in the very tight time frame we reorganised our already busy schedule and liaised with existing clients to ensure that we didn’t let anyone down.

The team then felled two out of the three trees and carefully dismantled and felled the largest of the three trees which was a mature beech tree standing over 20 m in height and weighing in excess of 20 tonnes.

The timber was then removed from site by a local firewood merchant who had organised two hiab wagons to come on site once the trees had been felled.

Beech tree Removal in Jesmond

Brief

We were contacted by our client who was concerned about the safety of their beech tree situated in their small suburban front garden in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne.

They were concerned that the cracks in the boundary wall which were getting seriously worse as a result of the pressure that the trees roots were putting onto it and the amount of shade that the tree was casting onto the front of their property.

Solution

As this tree was protected by a tree preservation order (TPO), the team submitted an arboricultural report to justify the reasons for the removal of this tree. The team met with the arboricultural officer for the local planning authority on site to discuss the reasons and justification for the removal of this tree, it was agreed that this tree could be removed on the basis that a replacement tree was planted.

Crown Reduction in Durham.

Brief

We were contacted by a client living in County Durham as the canopy of their large mature beech tree was in direct contact with their neighbours property.

The lower branches were also obstructing their neighbours windows and preventing them from getting any light. The client wanted to retain this magnificent old tree and wanted to ensure that any works carried out on the tree didn’t have a detrimental effect on its health.

Solution and outcome

Prior to any works taking place, we contacted the local planning authority to confirm whether or not the tree had a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). The Local Planning Authority confirmed that there was no TPO on the tree and that we were free to proceed with any works that we deemed necessary.

In order to remove the direct contact issue between the tree and neighbouring property, we needed to crown reduce the tree by approximately 2 m. Whilst undertaking the crown reduction works the tree was also crown raised to 5 m in order to remove the branches which were obstructing the neighbours windows.

Duty of Care – Hazardous Trees

The owner and / or occupier under the Occupiers Liability Act 1984 has a duty of care. This means that they are generally liable for any loss or damage resulting from falling branches or from the falling tree itself. It should be noted that whilst the incidence of accidents is low, falling branches and trees have resulted in deaths and caused serious road accidents.

Whilst there is no single source of statistical information relating to the number of instances when people are struck by falling branches or trees, what we do know from the indications is that the number of instances is low.

However, there have been a small number of serious incidents and such events usually attract a high level of media attention.

It is very important that anyone with responsibility for land with trees on them puts in place a procedure to identify and manage the risk.

If there is any doubt regarding the legal status or ownership of land containing trees landowners are strongly advised to clarify the situation as a matter of urgency. In the meantime, it would be sensible to assume ownership and responsibility and take action as necessary in order to minimise future liabilities.

Liability of Tree Owners

Occupiers and anyone with responsibility for trees i.e. a tenant must take reasonable steps to manage and reduce the risk which includes having their trees inspected regularly in order identify any trees which may cause injury or place property at risk. When hazardous trees are identified suitable remedial action must be taken in order to reduce the risks.

In addition to existing statutory requirements Courts expect owners in charge of places to which the public has access, such as parks, hotels, shopping centres, golf courses, and gardens to take greater care than those in control of more remote woodland.

The courts also expect occupiers to be prepared for children to behave less carefully than adults and thus consideration must be given to whether children might suffer injury from climbing trees which may have weak or damaged branches.

It is therefore essential that schools, nurseries etc have their trees inspected on an annual basis to ensure that their trees are safe.

In order to manage your duty of care Timmins Tree Surgery Ltd can implement regular tree inspections regimes to ensure that the risks are identified and then controlled appropriately.

The risks may be controlled by cordoning of areas and moving the public away from the area, removing dangerous branches or through the removal of dangerous trees.