Developing a site with Trees

Developers and home owners need to know about the trees on their site as part of the planning process.  The Town & Country Planning Act 1990 states that all trees on or near development sites are material considerations within this process.  This means they need to be included in any plans to develop or change the site and that means you need to find out about the trees near to any proposed changes.

Tree surveys and assessments

A tree survey is the starting point for arboricultural input.  Without a tree survey and impact assessment most Local Planning Authorities don’t even register planning applications on sites that contain trees.

Good quality trees add character and value to a site and should be retained and protected appropriately during construction.  Equally, it is not sensible to keep poor quality, unhealthy or unstable trees.

Once the trees have been plotted, identified and inspected, an assessment is needed to show how the proposed development will affect the trees and how the trees will affect the development.

Treecall Consulting can make this process clear and advise on designing a proposal that is acceptable to the local planning authority.

British Standard 5837:2012 ‘Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction – Recommendations’ is an important reference for this sort of tree survey.

Treecall Consulting has extensive experience of dealing with development sites, planning legislation and local authority tree officers.

Building near trees

Home owners need to know about the trees on their site as part of the planning process even if the proposed change is only an extension, a new garage or other minor alteration in the building size.

The condition of the trees is important as is an assessment of their public amenity value.

Treecall Consulting can help to make this process clear and provide advice in designing a proposal that is acceptable to the local planning authority.