Trees & Arboriculture

Tree condition assessments are the very best way to give you peace of mind that your trees are safe and well. Our low intervention approach aims to retain trees and carry out minimal works. In our experience, trees and tree collections that are routinely assessed require significantly less surgery work; they are also less likely to suffer catastrophic collapse. If you own or manage trees, a condition assessment ensures legal compliance and displays diligent care. Get in touch for a quotation:

Management plans and policies are a useful method for responsible management of larger tree portfolios. They ensure legal compliance, budget forecasting, a long-term plan for maintenance, retention and succession, and a scheduled programme for surveys and maintenance, based upon levels of risk. We provide plans and policies to councils, charities and country estates that are specific to your site. Contact us for advice and a quotation:

The BS5837 arboricultural report is integral to the planning process where trees may be impacted. Best practice is to gather tree data at an early stage, where it identifies constraints and informs good design. We are very well practiced in producing robust reports, and working with design teams to solve problems. Why not make trees an important element in your plans?

CAVAT is a mechanism for attributing a monetary value to an individual tree, based upon a range of factors including health, function and context. Commonly used by local authorities, it can be used to highlight the cost of damage or removal of trees for proposed projects, or when trees are unlawfully removed. It can be used to levy compensation from developers and landowners when trees need to be, or have been removed. Contact us to arrange a CAVAT assessment:

Our most precious trees, veterans and ancients have irreplaceable features and micro-habitats that take hundreds of years to establish. Caring for them is a subtle, delicate and highly skilled task. Fortunately, we've been doing it for decades, combining practical experience with the latest scientific developments. For veteran and ancient tree surveys, with individual tree management plans, please get in touch:

Heritage tree collections are common in designed landscapes, such as parks, gardens and arboreta. They consist of important individual specimens, design features within landscapes, or as special collections of botanical note. We help with the specialist interpretation, care and succession plans for trees in this environment, having experience managing nationally important tree collections. Please get in touch for an initial discussion:

Trees are an essential feature within the landscape of new developments; they enhance cultural value, perform a range of environmental benefits and enhance financial value. This is why some planning authorities have minimum canopy cover targets for new developments. Trees within landscape design plans frequently relate to BS5837 recommendations (see above) and full planning permission grants. As ever, the right tree in the right place is essential; we provide guidance and landscape design plans with trees in mind. Find out more:

Do you own trees or have responsibility for them? For some this causes anxiety and others bury their head in the sand. Being a responsible tree owner/manager does not need to be stressful. You have a duty of care to ensure that people and their property are safe where your trees are concerned. The expectations around duty of care increase with responsibility, for example, a manager of a public venue or large estate would be expected to undertake more rigorous checks and actions. Where safety is concerned, lack of care that leads to injury is considered negligence, and can result in fines or convictions.

The law also applies to trees that are protected by Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) or trees within a Conservation Area. They require permission to be granted for any tree maintenance, works or development that may impact them.

Being an owner or manager of trees does not need to be a worry; good management, following recognised plans and processes ensures that you remain legally compliant; that's where we come in. For help and advice, simply get in touch: