I have written before of the value of good arboricultural input for trees when being assessed for planning applications. A couple of situations in the past week or so have highlighted to me the value of commissioning technically aware arborists. I was asked to inspect a tree by an arborist who focuses on practical work, and is less experienced about the workings of the tree. There was concern about the condition of the tree, and a request to arrange for it to be felled. The tree contained dead wood over a busy road.
I realised that not only would an application to fell be unlikely to succeed (but take several months to process), but the work needing to be done to this tree went beyond just the removal of dead wood, which is exempt from the need for formal consent. Waiting for the additional work to be undertaken would delay pruning by 2 months. The owner of the tree was unsure of how to proceed. Bringing my full team together, I have been able to arrange for sensitive and appropriate pruning of the tree in a timely manner which has provided sufficient reassurance to the tree officer that formal consent was not needed.
The other scenario involves a colleague of mine who visited a site to provide some technical advice in connection with potential damage to a tree. Whilst on site, he noticed a tree on neighbouring land which was leaning towards the site. Exploring further, he noticed decay present at the base of the tree, which gave sufficient cause for concern for us to pursue remedial safety work. What was particularly notable was contractors visiting the neighbouring site had not noticed the condition of the leaning tree.
The Arboricultural Consultant has an inquiring mind, and seeks to identify why a tree is functioning the way it is, rather than merely following instructions.