Re: Law and safety regarding sycamore trees
Re: Law and safety regarding sycamore trees
Posted by: chris (IP Logged)
Date: August 27, 2007 21:57
Hello Kellie
Your post seems a little confused.
All trees in a conservation area are protected; the council do not have to 'claim' a tree - it is protected because it is in the conservation area. Any one wanting to do work on such a tree must give the council six weeks notice. There are certain exemptions to this, including dead and dangerous trees.
If your tree was in a conservation area, but was not protected by a tree preservation order (TPO), then you have to replace it if you felled it on the basis of it being dangerous, unless the council agree to waiving that obligation. If, however, you felled it having given the council six weeks notice then unless they made a TPO they have no power to require a replacement.
You'll find more on our protected trees pages
Just because a tree is 7m from a house doesn't make it dangerous. The 12m figure you quote is from a mis-interpretation of some research relating to subsidence damage to foundations. It only has meaning on a shrinkable clay soil because trees can not damage foundations on other soils. Even on clay, it a very simplistic and often over cautious approach. There's a bit more on trees and subsidence here.
As to any other form of danger - it takes more than height to make a tree dangerous. Most trees don't fail.
An 80m sycamore would be an impressive sight indeed. But a very unlikely one. In an urban environment you'd be pretty lucky to manage 25m.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 27/08/2007 21:59 by chris.
Your post seems a little confused.
All trees in a conservation area are protected; the council do not have to 'claim' a tree - it is protected because it is in the conservation area. Any one wanting to do work on such a tree must give the council six weeks notice. There are certain exemptions to this, including dead and dangerous trees.
If your tree was in a conservation area, but was not protected by a tree preservation order (TPO), then you have to replace it if you felled it on the basis of it being dangerous, unless the council agree to waiving that obligation. If, however, you felled it having given the council six weeks notice then unless they made a TPO they have no power to require a replacement.
You'll find more on our protected trees pages
Just because a tree is 7m from a house doesn't make it dangerous. The 12m figure you quote is from a mis-interpretation of some research relating to subsidence damage to foundations. It only has meaning on a shrinkable clay soil because trees can not damage foundations on other soils. Even on clay, it a very simplistic and often over cautious approach. There's a bit more on trees and subsidence here.
As to any other form of danger - it takes more than height to make a tree dangerous. Most trees don't fail.
An 80m sycamore would be an impressive sight indeed. But a very unlikely one. In an urban environment you'd be pretty lucky to manage 25m.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 27/08/2007 21:59 by chris.
| Subject | Posted By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
 Law and safety regarding sycamore trees
|
Kellie Pearson | 27/08/2007 20:24 |
  Re: Law and safety regarding sycamore trees |
chris | 27/08/2007 21:57 |
Advice offered in this forum is of a general nature only. It is by its nature not based on any site investigation and should not be relied upon. Neither the forum administrator nor any contributor will be held liable for damages occurring as a result of relying on advice given here. You should contact a competent arboriculturist for a more detailed answer.