Miscellaneous Services

Trees & The Law

We provide Expert Witness representation and advice on legal issues pertaining to trees.

Specialist Advice For Local Authorities & Large Organisations

We act as specialist Consultants for a number of Local Authorities providing Consultancy support. A summary of services are:

We also provide full Consultancy services to large estates, landowners, public bodies and housing providers.

Air-Spade

It is often easy to forget that a significant portion of a tree is concealed from sight, and yet the root system is arguably the most important part providing stability and support while absorbing nutrients from the surrounding ground.

It may be necessary to access the root system for various reasons, however a problem lies with the invasive nature of this task. Conventional hand tools, even when used with care, are likely to cause damage to the structural roots and certainly the finer feeding roots.

At AllAboutTrees we utilise an air-spade for the exposure of a root system.

An air-spade is a handheld tool which produces a stream of air moving at approximately 1200mph using a powerful compressor and an engineered nozzle.

The powerful air stream is able to penetrate the soil by exploiting voids between soil particles without causing damage to materials such as underground services and tree roots. Even the fine feeder roots of a tree are left undisturbed. Highly compacted soils and heavy clays are effectively broken with the use of the air-spade, although rock and frozen ground cannot be penetrated.

The use of an air-spade includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Tree Valuation

Tree valuation reports using either Visual Amenity Valuation of Trees and Woodland (Helliwell) system or Council For Tree & Landscape Appraisers (CTLA) system.We also undertake valuations using the CAVAT (Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees) system which provides a method for managing trees as public assets rather than liabilities. It is designed not only to be a strategic tool and aid to decision making in relation to tree stock as a whole, but also to be applicable to individual cases where the value of a single tree needs to be expressed in monetary terms.

Computerised Tree Shade Evaluation In Relation To Development Layout

The relevance of tree shadows in relation to new development is important to ensure that proposed recreational areas such as gardens and windows (on building elevations) will not be excessively shaded by adjacent trees. If these areas do become excessively shaded, the tree may become a target for pruning or even removal. By understanding the position and motion of tree shadows at an early stage in the planning process, such problems can be avoided.

Local Authorities receive a large number of requests to prune or remove protected trees due to sunlight interference. They can of course refuse the requests, but this may be overturned on appeal to the Secretary of State who may judge that the light loss is unreasonable and the tree should be removed. To avoid such problems arising local authorities should ensure at the planning stage that the issue of light interruption, both in the present and in the future has been considered.

Veteran And Ancient Tree Management

Provision of advice regarding the correct management of veteran & ancient trees and also those trees which have potential to be retained as future veteran trees. We also undertake surveys using English Natures Specialist Survey method.