Tree Preservation Orders

The career of a tree surgeon presents a series of challenges. An effective tree surgeon requires the physical assets of strength and dexterity. He needs to be a specialist in operating and maintaining his machinery and, finally, the wherewithal to negotiate legal hurdles lest they find themselves in court. That’s the emphasis of this write-up as we touch on Tree Preservation Orders (TPO’s).

Tree Surgery in Swindon, Wiltshire is no different from other regions in the UK. We work in a competitive market with an ever growing number of rivals, and the occasional cowboy, competing for receding returns. Here too stories of jobs gone wrong and legal breaches in the industry hit the news every so often.

In recent years our town, Wootton Bassett (Or Royal if you prefer), had its own controversy. Beset with a new building project, a local school was demolished to make way for houses, the towns iconic tree was thought to be under threat. A famous Willow, emblazoned on the schools logo, was saved as officials scurried to a file a TPO in its name. This is an instance when the legal act works effectively.

TPO’s are designed to disperse the cowboys in our industry, sadly there are exceptions. The story of Neil Davey and Thomas Mcguire is one of note. In 2012 the two colluded to fell a 40ft Pine tree on a neighbouring property. Their motive? The Pine obscured a view of Poole Harbour and in so doing significantly reduced the value of Davey’s home.

The act was carried out in the dead of night, but justice was delivered before the glare of national media, not least because the two admitted misleading the authorities. In court Davey and Mcguire were found guilty of the ‘wilful destruction of a tree’. Davey was fined £75,000 - The largest of its nature in British legal history.

In the UK, Preservation Orders are subject to the Planning Act of 1990. This act is often filed when trees and hedges are thought to be endangered. Establishing a trees status isn’t difficult; This can be done by contacting the local planning authority in your area. We’d recommend home-owners who employ ‘the professionals’ do their due diligence too.

You can learn more about TPO’s, tree top health and safety and other industry misadventures at our site, www.TreeSurgeonSwindon.org.uk/. Meanwhile, we hope this is the second of many posts on the Landscape Juice Network over the coming months.

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