Common Sense Risk Management of Trees National Tree Safety Group

7/31/2019 Common Sense Risk Management of Trees National Tree Safety Group

1/104

N T S G

NN S G

Guidance on trees and public safety in the K

for owners, managers and advisers

Common sense

risk managementof trees


2/104

2

Crown Copyright 2011

You may re-use this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or

medium, under the terms of the pen Government Licence. o view this licence, visit:

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence

or write to the Information Policy eam, he National Archives, Kew,

London W9 4DU, or email: [email protected]

First published in December 2011 by

Forestry Commission, Silvan House, 231 Corstorphine Road, dinburgh H12 7A.

he National ree Safety Group

Common sense risk management of trees

Forestry Commission, dinburgh.

Keywords: trees; risk; management; inspection; zoning.

Stock code: FCMS024

nquiries relating to this publication should be addressed to:

Forestry CommissionPublications

231 Corstorphine Road

dinburgh

H12 7A

: 0131 334 0303

: [email protected]

If you need this publication in an alternative format, for example in large print or in

another language, please contact he Diversity eam at the above address.

elephone: 0131 314 6575 or email: [email protected]

he NSG can be contacted at www.ntsg.org.uk

Design and production: Pages Creative, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 7HY

Photographs: front cover, Philip Stokes; remaining photographs Forestry Commission

Picture Library, he ree Council and as credited.

Printed by: Severnprint of Gloucester.

ISBN 978-0-85538-840-9
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licencehttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licencemailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.ntsg.org.uk/http://www.ntsg.org.uk/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence


3/104

3

N T S G

NaNa Saf Gp

Safety is but one of the many goals to which weaspire; the mistake that is often made is to focus on safety

as if it is the only goalPROFESSOR DAVID BALLCentre for Decision Analysis and Risk Management

Middlesex University

published byhe forestry Commission

December 2011

www.ntsg.org.uk

Guidanc on trs and public safty

in th UK for ownrs, anagrs and advisrs

The Health and Safety Executive was consulted in theproduction of this publication. It endorses the sensible,

proportionate, reasonable and balanced advice to owners

on managing the risk from trees set out in the guidance.

Common sense

risk mngemento trees
http://www.ntsg.org.uk/http://www.ntsg.org.uk/


4/104

N T S G

4

The National Tree Safety Group

he Ntionl ree Sety Grou (NSG) is brod rtnershi o orgnistions tht

hve come together to develo ntionlly recognised guidnce on tree sety

mngement tht is roortionte to the ctul risk rom trees. NSG membershi is

oen to ll interested stkeholder orgnistions nd grous.

NTSG memeS

Professional bodies

arboriculturl assocition

B/213 rees Committee o the British Stndrds nstitution (BS)

nstitute o Chrtered foresters

ondon ree cers assocition

oyl nstitution o Chrtered Surveyors

he ree Council

Visitor Sety in the Countryside Grou

Tree owners and managers

British Holidy & Home prks assocition td Conedertion o forest ndustries (K) td

Country nd nd Business assocition

nglish Heritge

ssex County Council

forestry Commission

Ntionl frmers nion

Organisations with heritage and/or conservation interests

ancient ree forum

Cmign to protect url nglnd

nglish Heritge Ntionl rust

Woodlnd rust

Risk research consultants

Centre or Decision anlysis nd isk Mngement, Middlesex niversity

he NSG, its Mngement Committee nd its individul member orgnistions in

roducing this reort hve endevoured to ensure the ccurcy o its contents. he

guidnce nd views in this reort should lwys be reviewed by those using the

reort in the light o the cts nd merits o the rticulr cse nd secilist dvice

obtined s necessry. No libility or negligence or otherwise in reltion to this reort

is cceted by the NSG, its Mngement Committee, member orgnistions or their

servnts or gents.


5/104

N T S G

5

Contents

fWD 06

pfaC 07

CTe 1

NDCN 09

he bjectives o ree isk Mngement: 12

Securing the mny benets o trees 14

acknowledging tht trees re living orgnisms

tht nturlly lose brnches or ll 16

CTe 2

NDSaNDNG H SKS fM S 19

CTe 3WHa H aW SaS 29

CTe 4

aSNaB, BaaNCD SK MaNaGMN 39

CTe 5

HW HS GDaNC CD B appD 59

fNCS aND fNS 74

appNDCS 78

CNaCS 96

aCKNWDGMNS 100

Forestry Commission/George Gate


6/104

N T S G

6

Foreword

We re most wre o unlikely nd unusul events, nd

those things which re most imortnt to us re oten

the lest recited nd tken or grnted. errorist

ttcks, severe erthqukes or tsunmi re rt o our

news but not rt o most o our lives. few o us ever

exerience the trgic consequences o tlity or

serious injury s consequence o tree ilure. However, while, hily, such tree-relted

events re rre, when they do occur they re newsworthy becuse o their very inrequency.

he inrequency o tree ilure events is in contrst to the ubiquity o trees, which dene our

lndsce rom the centre o our citl cities to the most remote o lces. he mjority o us

see trees every dy, they oulte our countryside nd towns, our rks nd grdens to such

n extent tht we cn esily orget their imortnce to our qulity o lie.

Nturlly nd rightly, tl nd serious ccidents re investigted nd cn result in litigtion. n

such cses, there is need or the helth nd sety uthorities nd the courts to understnd

both the vlue o trees nd the context o the mngement o trees nd good rctice ginst

which ny individul cse cn be comred. his lso rovides benchmrk or mngers to

work with. However, becuse o the imortnce o trees in our lndsce nd society, theinrequency o tree ilure events nd the wide rnge o environments in which trees occur,

gret cre needs to be tken not to crete nother level o burdensome regultion.

his guidnce hs not been hstily drwn u document. Sometime t the end o 2007

grou o us, drwn rom s wide s ossible rnge o orgnistions interested in trees, met to

discuss how best to codiy the best, generlly cceted nd blnced roch to mnging

risks rom trees. his grou orgnised, in aril 2008, well-ttended conerence t the oyl

Geogrhicl Society nd ollowing this debte the Ntionl ree Sety Grou ws ormed.

from the outset, the grou wished to drw together current inormtion nd good rctice to

develo common sense nd rcticl roch to mnging risks rom trees. t

commissioned reserch into risk relevnt to tree mngement nd undertook to roduce suite o inormtion nd guidnce on mnging the risks rom trees, o which this is the min

document. t hs been n extrordinry journey bringing together rboriculturists nd

oresters, the ublic, rivte nd chritble sectors, lndowners nd mngers nd the rurl

nd the urbn. Wht hs been rewrding nd delightul hs been the extent o common

understnding born rom common love nd knowledge o trees. We would like to thnk ll

those whose unding, hrd work, time nd energy hs mde this document ossible. While

there re too mny to nme individully, we would like to thnk Jim Smith rticulrly or his

nl editing nd overseeing o the roduction o this guidnce.

Judith Webb MBEndSirHarry Studholme

Chirs o the Ntionl ree Sety Grou


7/104

N T S G

7

Preface

as write this rece, we hve just exerienced two weeks o

lmost continuous gle orce winds during eriod when our

deciduous brodleved trees re in ull le; the sving grce

or us, s tree mngers, is tht it hs been n excetionlly

dry sring, with over nine weeks o drought nd root to soil is

un-lubricted. it hd been wet sring, we my well hve

been busy clering u llen trees. Winds re climtic ctor tht ll rboriculturists eel

unesy with, s it is test o our tree mngement skills nd, in rticulr, our judgement.

as the Hed o the arboretum, m resonsible or the curtion nd mngement o

more thn 14,000 secimen trees t the oyl Botnic Grdens, Kew, mnging tem o

ve rborists who, in their dily work, crry out hzrd evlution o our collections in

order to void litigtion nd mintin our duty o cre or our st who work under them

nd our million visitors yer who wlk beneth them. Mny o these secimens re old

nd extremely rre, both in their nturl hbitt nd in rivte collections, nd removl

my not be rcticble rom conservtion stndoint. hereore, more in-deth risk

ssessment with list o ossible controls, such s thinning end weight, scold removl,

cble brcing, encing to kee out the ublic, or diverting the trget will be needed to

reduce the risk rting beore the sw.With my mily, hve just visited nd been insired by huge blck wlnut (Juglans

nigra) in mous ondon rk bosting the lrgest o its kind in the British sles. t hs

extremely lrge, hevy scolds, with oen cvities, suorted by severl cbles. here is

lso evidence o revious brnch ilure on the huge bole, but, or dded comort, the dri

line is surrounded by ermnent ence, keeing the ublic out should the tree decide the

end hs come. his incredible wlnut tree cn still be dmired by visitors to the rk in

sety nd the rborist or grden mnger cn slee comortbly t night.

fortuntely, mny tree mngers re well wre o the mny benets tht trees

rovide, rticulrly our vetern trees with wht cll their Hrry potter chrcters,

whether they grow in woodlnds, rivte grdens or urbn res, nd lie would be dull

without our beutiul treesce. However, we re oten ced with the dilemm o removlor retention in the nme o helth nd sety. his is where common sense roch is

necessry beore wielding the chinsw nd otions to sve re oten overlooked.

at lst, we hve guidnce document roduced by the Ntionl ree Sety Grou

tht will hel ll o us who work in the tree sector to mke tht judgement cll. he

strength o this document is tht it hs been roduced by clling on the exertise o tree

roessionls rom wide rnge o interests nd ocuses on roortionte rection ginst

the benets tht trees rovide: t lst, common sense roch.

Tony Kirkham

Hed o the arboretum

oyl Botnic Grdens, Kew


8/104

N T S G

8 c m m k m g m


9/104

N T S G

d c 9

1

2

3

4

5

IntroductIonIntroduction 1

9


10/104

N T S G

10 c m m k m g m

Trees orm part o theoverall landscape and

their presence has many

dierent benefts

depending on how the

land is used

he Lucombe ak, Phear Park, Exmouth; retained as childrens pla equipment. The Tree Council


11/104

N T S G

d c 11

1

2

3

4

5

IntroductIonhe ational ree afety groups (g) ai is to evelop a nationally reonise

approah to tree safety anaeent an to provie uiane that is proportionate

to the atual riss fro trees.

his uiane is base on a set of basi priniples evelope by the g for

onsierin an anain tree safety in the publi interest. hese priniples are set

out in the position stateent, Managing risks from treesat ppenix 1. he overall

approah is that a balane shoul be stru between riss an benets. his ouent

ives uiane supportin the g position, whih an be suarise as:

he g believes that one funaental onept shoul unerlie the

anaeent of riss fro trees. t is that the evaluation of what is reasonable shoul

be base upon a balane between benet an ris. his evaluation an be unertaen

only in a loal ontext, sine trees provie any ifferent types of benet in a rane

of ifferent irustanes.

he g position is unerpinne by a set of ve ey priniples:

trees provie a wie variety of benets to soiety

trees are livin oraniss that naturally lose branhes or fall

the overall ris to huan safety is extreely low

tree owners have a leal uty of are

tree owners shoul tae a balane an proportionate approah to tree safety

anaeent.

manain the ris fro trees is the responsibility of the owners an anaers of the

lan on whih they row. here are any ifferent types of lanowner an trees

row in any ifferent environents. his uiane has been evelope to support

the wor of all those involve in tree anaeent; whether onnete with streets,

pars, publi open spaes, businesses suh as hotels or fars, private estates,

woolan, oerial forestry or private arens. his ouents ontent an

struture reets the gs ve ey priniples.

Context

his ouent interates an upates issues onernin trees an their anaeentfor huan safety, brinin toether onepts fro several other national uiane

ouents.

n reent years, any owners an anaers of trees have been seein lear an

onise uiane on what is expete of the in ters of fulllin their oral an

leal responsibilities with respet to the trees on their estate or property. here is a

pervasive pereption in toays ris-averse soiety that the eisions people ay ae

about the safety of trees on their lan oul result in an inient with serious leal

an nanial onsequenes, not to ention loss of life an injury.

he g believes that uiane whih assists in settin a stanar of ation for

tree owners, hallenin this ris-averse approah, woul be beneial. his

ouent is supporte by a wie rane of staeholers involve in the ownership


12/104

N T S G

12 c m m k m g m

an anaeent of trees. t provies uiane for inspetin an aintainin trees;

uiane that is reasonable an proportionate to: the low ris fro trees, the benets

of trees, an the health an safety obliations of those responsible for trees. s a

national uiane ouent proue by an authoritative an representative roup,

its ontent an reoenations, if followe, shoul assist trees owners involve in

personal injury or opensation lais when presente to the ourt as supportin

ouentation.

noubtely, iportant trees have been reove, an there is aneotal

eviene to suest that, aross all the ifferent ownership ateories, trees have

been an are bein reove unneessarily ue to the fear of litiation. n any ases,

the value of trees is not easy to express in onetary ters. However, reible

ethos of tree valuation are beoin ore aepte an tree owners an asribe

a nanial value to their trees if they wish to o so. t is harer still to put a nanial

value on all the eosyste servies that trees provie aross the broa spetru of

lan use types. hese inlue environental an soietal values those esoteri an

soial values enjoye by everyboy but whose benets are iniret. xaples are:

better ental health, bioiversity, iprove loal environent an soial ohesion.

et aainst these benets are the osts of aintenane an the fear of litiation. he

g position stateent arues that it is reasonable to inlue soietal value an

benet in the alulation of what is reasonable where a lanowner or anaer isatin in the publi interest. his ouent sets out the g position an sees to

put forwar a reible an efenable approah to tree ris anaeent.

The objectives of tree risk managementhe anaeent of ris, when properly oranise, enables an oranisation, aon

other thins, to:

inrease the lielihoo of ahievin its objetives

ientify an ontrol the ris

oply with relevant leal an reulatory requireents

iprove staeholer onene an trust.

rees for part of the overall lansape an their presene has any ifferent

benets epenin on how the lan is use. ot all trees are anae an, even for

those that are, suh anaeent fors a oponent of overall lan anaeent.

Huan safety is one part of that anaeent. t is iportant to reonise, therefore,

that ris anaeent an be unertaen only by unerstanin the trees an their

value to people in the ontext within whih they row. his ontext naturally inlues

their istribution in relation to the population that iht be hare. he

requireent uner health an safety leislation is to have a suitable an sufient ris

assessent, an to apply easures that are reasonable an pratiable. his uiane

shows an interate approah to that proess within the wier ontext of lan

ownership an anaeent.


13/104

N T S G

d c 13

IntroductIon

1

2

3

4

5

Figure 1. Risk Management Process

Trees:

peies, e, conition

People:

Loation, ubers,

roa/rail et.

carry out reies of

eviene atherin

appropriate to zones

ree reoval, tree surery,

inreasin frequeny an

intensity of inspetions,

reuin aess?

Example Zones:

o inspetion,

nforal observation,

oral observation,

detaile observation

E

What benets o these

trees ive to thislan?

I IEIfII

s there liely to be any ris to

huan safety fro these trees?

I IEIfII

s it useful to establish zones?

I LyI

What is the atual level of ris?

I EvLI

s this ris aeptable?

I EE

What ation, if any, nees

to be taen to treat the ris

an preserve as any of the

benets as possible?

communiationandconsultation

eordkeeping,monitorin

gandreview


14/104

N T S G

14 c m m k m g m

Securing the many benets of trees to societyrees are funaental to our wellbein an quality of life. heir size, nuber an ae

ae the one of the ost visible an ontinuous aspets of our lives. heir beauty

an ajesty have inspire artists, poets an writers. rees ay be siniant to us

personally, arin historial oasions, oeoratin a birth, faily event or

elebration of a life.

n seein to provie uiane on tree ris anaeent, it is rst neessary to

ientify those benets arue fro the presene of trees that are seure for soiety,

by followin the ris anaeent proess. hese are the objetives or oals of the

ris anaeent proess. n the ontext of this ouent, these objetives are the

any benets that trees bestow on our lives. ppenix 2 provies further etail on

these benets an it loos at soe of the any benets provie by the illions of

trees in the nite kino (k) an exaines their ontribution to our health,

wealth an wellbein.

Briey, these inlue, but are not liite to, the various eosyste servies that

trees as one eleent of the natural environent provie to our soiety. hese

eosyste servies over a wie spetru of benets ranin aross soial, eonoi

an environental areas. t is now broaly aepte that failure to value, onsier

an enhane those natural eleents that provie these eosyste servies iinishes

our soiety as a whole. his approah buils on traitional onservationist attituesan reonises linaes between lan, water, air an bioiversity.

rees are interal to ost natural lan-base eosystes, proviin a wie rane

of eosyste servies to huanin, inluin itiatin the harful effets of

liate hane as well as assistin with liate aaptation. rees are an iportant

part of the eonoy, proviin tiber an non-tiber forest prouts. hey also

brin ounities toether, playin a part in their ultural an spiritual values an

aestheti appreiation.

Three hundred years growing. Three hundred years standing. Three hundred years

decaying.Peter Collinson (1776) on the lie cycle o English oak and sweet chestnut.

heir iportane is reonise in international, national an loal overnent

poliies, an any non-overnental oranisations have poliies eiate to

onservin trees an their bioiversity.

he overall approah to tree anaeent an be establishe only if the

avantaes partiular trees offer are evaluate in their own loal ontext. Peoples

safety is unoubtely an iportant onsieration, whether trees are anae for

their ultural, aenity, heritae or environental benets or for tiber proution

an other oerial interests. However, the g believes the safety aspet of tree

anaeent ust be evaluate alonsie these other benets an the anaeent

praties that see to provie the. he onsieration of benet before the

exaination of ris an leal obliation hihlihts the iportane of ontext.


15/104

N T S G

Boundar hedgerow trees. The Tree Council

d c 15

1

2

3

4

5

IntroductIon

The overall approachto tree management can

be established only i the

advantages particular

trees oer are evaluated

in their own local

context


16/104

N T S G

16 c m m k m g m

he sale of what is reasonable annot be evelope in any other way. t is not

sufient to say that trees provie benets an their overall ris is low an so nothin

nee be one to any tree anywhere. t is, however, reasonable to onlue that, in

any ases, nothin at all nees to be one to the trees, sine the lielihoo of a

eath or injury is tiny iven that trees are extreely unliely to fall on people. uh a

onsieration, assuin it is aurate, woul be enouh to satisfy the requireent for

a suitable an sufient ris assessent uner health an safety leislation.

ven where there is a potential for people to be hare, anaeent ation to

reue the ris oul also vary onsierably epenin on the trees value.

he Health an afety xeutive (H), in prouin uiane for H inspetors

an loal authority enforeent ofers, has state that:

public saety aspects can be addressed as part o the approach to managing tree health

and tree owners should be encouraged to consider public saety as part o their overall

approach to tree management.1

Acknowledging trees are living organisms that naturallylose branches or falln reent years, there has been a step hane in soiety that appears on one level to

ean a ore natural holisti provision of reen infrastruture an outoor spae.

t the sae tie, it also eans that people are inreasinly ossete fro therouh ees of nature when they use or interat with it. his ilea sees to ste

fro a soietal hane that enouraes litiation as a eans of resolvin isputes,

reatin a river that aes soe tree owners reatly ore ris-averse than they

woul otherwise have been.

Economic benets: proiding income, jobs and a sustainable resource. Forestry Commission/John McFarlane


17/104

N T S G

d c 17

1

2

3

4

5

IntroductIon

he onsequene of this for tree owners is the pereption that those natural

features an harateristis of trees that have evolve over illennia as part of

oplex eosystes present ris to people an are therefore probleati an requireintensive anaeent. xaples are: eawoo, shein branhes, avities,

eaye tiber, fallen trees, split branhes et.

rees apaity for lon life an their ability to row to reat heiht an size aes

the iportant to people, proviin urable an useful aterials, an protetion fro

the eleents. When allowe to oplete their natural life yle, trees provie habitat

supportin a iversity of epenent speies an, enerally, as trees ae, their assoiate

bioiversity inreases. rees are eystone speies. heir iportane for bioiversity is

suh that, when they are reove fro an eosyste, the entire set of onnetions

between inter-epenent speies breas own an the syste ollapses.

ppenix 3 evelops the aruent that overstatin a trees potential to ause

eath or injury riss the over-zealous reoval of the whole tree or ea woo another habitats, whih play a ruial role in aintainin soe of the benets of trees in

both the rural an urban ontext.

t is a partiular hallene of tree anaeent that, unlie an-ae strutures,

it is entirely noral an natural for trees to she parts an eventually to fall. his

uiane an the g position stateent arue stronly that eisions about ris

an be unertaen only by ain balane juents. ehnial estiates of a

trees lielihoo to fail are only part of the piture in any instanes, the level of ris

is insufient to warrant an inspetion.

he inforation in ppenix 3 reinfores the onept that anaeent ust

fous on the role an funtion of trees as livin oraniss as one part of a oplex

eosyste.

ocial benets: proiding recreation and improed phsical and mental wellbeing. Forestry Commission, Coed Y Cymoedd FD


18/104

N T S G

18 m m k m g m f


19/104

N T S G

d d g k f m 19

1

3

4

5

U

19

2


20/104


21/104

N T S G

d d g k f m 21

1

2

3

4

5

Understandingthe

risksfromt

rees

current overall aintenance or control reie or that hazar (the tree). When

assessin a tree, owners an anaers nee to jue whether the anaeent

easures they aopt will ull societys reasonable expectations. easonableness is

a ey leal concept when consierin the riss o trees to the public an tree owners

obliations. deciin what is reasonable can be unertaen only with rear to the

trees place within the wier anaeent context an how that context inuences

ecisions locally. he presente this expectation in its ris philosophy, outline in

fiure 2 (see also fiure 1).

he says that, or practical purposes, any activity or practice ivin rise to ris

in the upper zone woul be prohibite unless exceptional reasons coul be iven.

he botto zone, in contrast, represents a level o ris which is taen as broaly

acceptable. he states:

Risks alling in this region are generally regarded as insignifcant and adequately

controlled. We, as regulators, would not usually require urther action to reduce risks unless

reasonably practicable measures are available. The levels o risk characterising this region

are comparable to those that people regard as insignifcant or trivial in their daily lives.2

azars with ris levels allin in the intereiate ban ay be tolerate in orer to

secure the associate benets, proviin that:

he nature an level o the riss are aequately assesse an the results are use

Figure 2. Tolerability of Risk Framework1 (ToR)

Visual presentation o the level o eneral annual riss o eath ro allin trees note the

tolerable reion is where riss are anae as low as reasonably practicable (LP)

UnaCCePtaBLe

region

BroadLY

aCCePtaBLe

region

toLeraBLe region

n this reion riss are

anae as low as

reasonably practicable

(abbreviate by to LP)

.1:1,000,000

he arrow points to

where the eneralise

averae annual level o

ris o eath ro

allin trees is locate

accorin to the o

fraewor

1 he iara is base on Reducing risks, protecting people( 2001) fiure 1: raewor or the tolerability o ris.

Inc

reasingIndividualRisks&S

ocietalConcerns

1:10,000


22/104

N T S G

22 m m k m g m f

to eterine control easures. he assessent o the ris nees to be base on

the best available evience an, where evience is lacin, on the best available

scientic avice.

he resiual riss are not unuly hih an ept as low as reasonably practicable

(the LP principle3).

he riss are perioically reviewe to ensure that the ris is controlle so ar as is

reasonably practicable (fP) an they still eet the LP criteria, or

exaple, by ascertainin whether urther or new control easures nee to be

introuce to tae account o new nowlee or new techniques or reucin or

eliinatin riss.

n obvious question relatin to the above concerns the precise lielihoo o eath or

serious injury associate with the threshol between the three zones. ow any

incients a year o there have to be beore a ris oves ro tolerable to

unacceptable? he says that it is oten unnecessary to speciy the threshol

because oo practice is oten spelle out or iplie in leislation, approve coes o

practice (oPs) or other uiance. owever, base on its experience, the has

propose uielines4 or where these threshols lie. his is very iportant when

seein to establish what a reasonable stanar o control is.

ccorinly, the has ientie that an iniviual ris o eath o one in oneillion per year or both worers an the public correspons to a very low level o

ris, an this shoul be use as a uieline or the threshol between the broaly

acceptable an tolerable reions. t points out that this level o ris is extreely sall

when copare with the eneral bacroun level o ris which people ace an

enae with voluntarily.

Research into deaths from falling treesguiance to help owners an anaers ae reasonable ecisions about tree

anaeent nees to be bace up by reliable ata on the actual level o ris pose

by allin trees. hereore, the ational ree aety group coissione the entre

or decision nalysis an is manaeent at milesex niversity to quantiy theris o atal an non-atal injuries ro allin or allen trees an branches to the k

public. he research ientie 64 eaths urin the 10 years ater 1 January 19995.

With a k population o rouhly 60 illion, this leas to an overall estiate ris o

about one eath in 10 illion people per year ro allin or allen trees an

branches.

o ar as non-atal injuries in the k are concerne, the nuber o accient an

eerency cases (&) attributable to bein struc by trees (about 55 a year) is

exceeinly sall copare with the rouhly 2.9 illion leisure-relate & cases

per year. footballs (262,000), chilrens swins (10,900) an even wheelie bins

(2,200) are involve in any ore incients.


23/104

N T S G

d d g k f m 23

1

2

3

4

5

Understandingthe

risksfromt

rees

a ComParison of risks of death

able 1 is reprouce ro s Reducing risks, protecting peoplewith the ris o

allin an allen trees ae or coparative purposes.

Table 1. Annual risk of death from various causes over entire population

Cu aul B uc

ancer 1 in 387 nlan an Wales 1999

njury an poisonin 1 in 3,137 k 1999

ll types o accients an other

external causes

1 in 4,064 k 1999

ll ors o roa accient 1 in 16,800 k 1999

Lun cancer ro raon in wellins 1 in 29,000 nlan 1996

gas incient (re, explosion or carbon

onoxie poisonin)

1 in 1,510,000 gB 1994/951998/99

fro trees 1 in 10,000,000 or

less i hih win

incients are exclue

his stuy

fro lihtnin 1 in 18,700,000 nlan an Wales

199599

The Tree Council


24/104

N T S G

24 m m k m g m f

Signicance of the identied riskshe iniviual ris o eath attributable to trees is 10 m L than the threshol

o one eath in one illion per year that the says people rear as insinicant

or trivial in their aily lives. Because trees present a very low ris to people, owners

an anaers shoul be able to ae plannin an anaeent ecisions within

this context an avoi unnecessary intervention, survey an cost.

he expectation o society an the courts reects the act that trees row in any

ierent types o location. By careully consierin how trees t into a particular local

context, owners an anaers can better ientiy those areas an situations requirin

action. t will also help the ensure that any anaeent is proportionate an

stries an appropriate balance between the real riss an benets.

The public perception of riskne reason why trees all into the low level o ris cateory is because over past

ecaes, in the ajority o cases, appropriate an tiely anaeent ecisions have

taen place. azarous trees have been ientie an reeial wors unertaen.

s etaile in ppenix 3, it is natural or trees to she branches an ultiately all

own. hese events happen all the tie an people have learnt how to live with

the. owever, it is accepte in ris anaeent that it is the perception o ris as

well as the actual ris itsel that enerates probles. reers to the role o perception in its ector noration minute (uiance or

inspectors an local authority enorceent ocers) as ollows:

The risk, per tree, o causing atality is o the order o one in 150 million or all trees in

Britain or one in 10 million or those trees in, or adjacent to areas o public use. However,

the low level o overall risk may not be perceived in this way by the public, particularly

ollowing an incident.6

Bw hll, su Y. English Heritage/Bob Skingle


25/104

N T S G

d d g k f m 25

1

2

3

4

5

Understandingthe

risksfromt

rees

s with other serious incients involvin loss o lie or injury, people can becoe

ore worrie by allin trees ater soeone has just been ille by one an it has

been wiely reporte in the eia.

Accidents from falling trees newsworthinesst can be reliably preicte that i a allin tree ills a eber o the public, there will

be a passin story in the local, an occasionally national, eia. his is because

unusual events, such as tree-relate eaths, are ore liely to be newsworthy than

coonplace accients, even thouh the latter pose a ar reater ris an cause

uch ore har overall.

his newsworthiness oes not iply a reater statutory uty to control the

hazar, or that it woul be in the public interest to attept to o so. here iht be

a stroner case or this were trees ore liely to ill lare nubers o people in one

accient or were they to arouse societal concerns7, but there is no evience that this is

the case.

Liewise, trees are not nown to invoe societal concerns as a result o the ris o

har that they present. n act, there is ar ore evience o true public societal

concern bein spare when trees are elle; the concern bein a public esire or the

retention an preservation o trees.

here are any recors o very stron local concern ollowin the reoval orthreat o reoval o trees, soeties on allee health an saety rouns. his

strenth o eelin coul increase as ore people realise that trees o sinicant

stature are bein lost.

many local authorities unertae extensive consultation exercises beore

unertain tree reoval within sensitive areas. he benets o these iscussions are

that better presentation o the pros an cons or retention an reoval, with

intellient ebate between all parties, reatly iprove the concerne resients

perception an unerstanin o the wors carrie out in their locality.

he pressures on tree owners to ollow a ris-averse approach have never been

reater. Publishin a tree stratey which clearly inicates how these anaeent

ecisions are taen an by who allows a local authority to teper a ris-averseoutloo. s the ouse o Lors elect oittee on conoics has put it:

the most important thing government can do is to ensure that its own policy decisions

are soundly based on available evidence and not unduly inuenced by transitory or

exaggerated opinions, whether ormed by the media or vested interests.8

Evaluation of what is reasonablehe believes that:

public saety aspects can be addressed as part o the approach to managing tree health

and tree owners should be encouraged to consider public saety as part o their overall

approach to tree management.9


26/104

N T S G

26 m m k m g m f

his is a useul position to establish, even thouh it is alost certainly not necessary to

aree that tree health is the only relevant criterion in anain trees. his

stateent suests that the accepts that huan saety is to be consiere within

a wier anaeent context rather than in isolation. he courts have requently

reerre to this trae-o in civil cases. he rst stae o an evaluation, thereore,

shoul ocus on the context an role o the trees theselves. n the context o the

low level o ris note alreay, the m urther states that:

Given the large number o trees in public spaces across the country, control measures that

involve inspecting and recording every tree would appear to be grossly disproportionate to

the risk. 9

What is inherent in this evaluation is a sense o proportion. his can be achieve

only by consierin the trees place in a wier anaeent context an peoples

relationship to that context locally.

Managing the risk from treesxposure to an eleent o ris is an unavoiable consequence o all environents

where trees are part o leisure activities. n such circustances, proportionate tree

anaeent allows people to accept ris ro trees as part o a stiulatin an

beautiul environent. People enjoy what they perceive to be natural orunanae countrysie. hey value trees that have been subject to inial or no

intervention, an are prepare to accept a eree o ris because o the pleasure they

erive ro visitin or participatin in leisure activities in these environents10. ree

anaeent11

or the lac o it shoul not expose people to sinicant lielihoo o

eath, peranent isability or lie-threatenin injuries. ccients are on occasions

unavoiable. uch ris is tolerable only in the ollowin conitions:

the lielihoo is extreely low

the hazars are clear to users

there are obvious benets

urther reucin the riss woul reove the benets

there are no reasonably practicable ways to anae the riss.

for exaple, a ature tree in a city par presents a low but present ris o allin on

soeboy, even i it is requently inspecte an treate. his ris is broaly

acceptable. he lielihoo is typically low an people benet ro the retention o a

eature that is inextricably line to why they visit the par.

n its position stateent, the g arues that it is reasonable that suciently

lare oranisations that own or anae trees evelop a anaeent stratey (in line

with practice in other sectors). his stratey ay strie a balance between riss

present an benets accrue. he balance shoul be base on a ris assessent

involvin a ris/benet trae-o between saety an other oals, which shoul be

spelle out in the stratey. ranisations that publish an aintain a tree stratey or


27/104

N T S G

d d g k f m 27

1

2

3

4

5

Understandingthe

risksfromt

rees

Bu P, C, ypcl ub p w u . Forestry Commission/Isobel Cameron

anaeent plan, part o which inclues inoration on their ris anaeent plan

or the trees they own, are uch better place to eonstrate they have ullletheir uty o care. Where trees are rown or tiber, this usually inclues ellin trees

as part o routine operations; as ay be the case or other coercial operations an

public utilities that incorporate trees on their site. on-coercial trees requently

have social an environental value as well, an are iportant to huan health an

wellbein. he gs position is that, wherever possible, the presuption shoul be

that such trees be retaine an allowe to coplete their lie cycle with inial

anaeent interventions.

uch a reasonable stratey, articulatin the benets o trees, shoul, in the view

o the g, carry as uch weiht in protectin the tree owner aainst litiation

ollowin an incient as any actorys reasonable ris anaeent policy. t is

iportant to note that this is an eerin area within the el o anain saetyriss to the public. he way that courts tae benet into account in civil an criinal

cases is iscusse in hapter 3.

Things to rememberesearch to ate supports the position that the ris ro trees in ost instances is no

ore than a routine an reconise ris o lie, which ost people accept without

question. n other wors, plannin ecisions about the anaeent o trees in

eneral shoul procee on a rational, cost-eective basis as trees o not invoe

aitional concerns about perceive ris. Public saety is not the only concern when

eciin how to anae trees. ther broaer concerns, such as ecoloical,

lanscape an aesthetic value, shoul also be taen into account.


28/104

N T S G

28 m m n n i k m n g m n f


29/104

N T S G

W H H L W Y 29

1

2

3

4

5

whatthela

ws

ays

3hat the law says

29


30/104

N T S G


Tree owners have a legal duty of carehapter 3 covers the law respect o a owers labltes or jury to others caused

by the all o a tree or brach lad, cotlad, Wales ad norther irelad. here

are slht dereces ters o how the law each coutry deals wth trees ad

labltes wth respect to saety ad the duty o care ars ro tree-related cdets

(see paes 31-37). geerally, due to a lac o case law cotlad ad norther

irelad, uch o the case law cted s lsh. he advce ve below s based o a

evaluato o past court decsos. it s ot teded to provde a exhaustve

exposto o the law relat to trees or the owershp o lad1.

hapter 3 also addresses the role o ths udace docuet wth the leal

raewor.

The role of this guidancehs docuet, supported by a wde rae o staeholders volved the owershp

ad aaeet o trees, sees to provde udace or the specto ad

ateace o trees that s reasoable ad proportoate to the low rs posed by

trees, to the beets o trees, ad to the health ad saety oblatos o those who

are resposble or trees. hs docuet ay be preseted to a court or

cosderato as support docuetato ay case volv death or persoal

jury caused by a all tree or brach. eported judets already deostratethat courts wll cosder publcatos o ths ature whe address the duty o care.

it ust, however, be apprecated that the udace ths docuet wll ot

tsel detere a courts judet a dvdual case. frst, all cases are sestve to

ther ow acts. ecod, a court wll always reserve to tsel the decso as to whether

a tree ower has acted as a reasoable ad prudet ladower. hs udace ca,

however, or the court the a o that decso.

The legal frameworkUder both the cvl law ad cral law, a ower o lad o whch a tree stads

has resposbltes or the health ad saety o those o or ear the lad ad has

potetal labltes ars ro the all o a tree or brach. he cvl law ves rseto dutes ad potetal labltes to pay daaes the evet o a breach o those

dutes. he cral law ves rse to the rs o prosecuto the evet o a

reet o the cral law.

The civil lawhe ower o the lad o whch a tree stads, toether wth ay party who has

cotrol over the trees aaeet, owes a duty o care at coo law to all

people who ht be jured by the tree. he duty o care s to tae reasoable care

to avod acts or ossos that cause a reasoably oreseeable rs o jury to persos

or property.


31/104


32/104

N T S G


Friary Park Oak, Friern Barnet. Forestry Commission/Jim Smith

The tree owner is not,however, expected to

guarantee that the tree is

safe. The owner has to

take only reasonable care

such as could be expected

of the reasonable andprudent landowner


33/104

N T S G

W H H L W Y 33

1

2

4

5

3

whatthela

ws

ays

to a duty to ata the hhway. it s ope to questo whether the duty exteds

to the ateace o hhway trees3. However, assu the duty does so exted,

the hhway authorty ay, by secto 58, deed tsel by prov that the authorty

had tae such care as all the crcustaces was reasoably requred to secure that

part o the hhway to whch the acto relates was ot daerous or trac. he

duty uder secto 41(1) s, thereore, lttle deret to that whch arses uder the

coo law elece. larly, the duty to ata trees plated uder

secto 96 o the Hhways ct 1980 requres the hhway authorty to tae oly

reasoable care. hhway authorty also has the power uder secto 154(2) o

the Hhways ct 1980 (see also s.91 oads (cotlad) ct 1984) to requre trees

row o lad adjacet to the hhway that are dead, dseased, daaed or

securely rooted, to be reoved by those resposble or the trees ad, deault o

reoval, to tae acto tsel to have the trees reoved. alure to utlse the power

ay partcular case s ulely to ve rse to lablty the lht oStovin v Wise4.

larly, t wll ot assst a perso resposble or a tree row adjacet to a

hhway to blae the hhway authorty or al to requre h to reove a tree

that s oud to have bee daerous.

it s the duty holders udaetal resposblty, ta reasoable care as a

reasoable ad prudet ladower, to cosder the rss posed by ther trees.

he level o owlede ad the stadard o specto that ust be appled tothe specto o trees are o crtcal portace. it s at ths pot that the balace

betwee the rs posed by trees eeral ters, the aety value o trees ad the

cost o deret types o specto ad reedal easures becoes relevat.

Ndd OF NPcON

he courts have ot deed the stadard o specto ore precsely tha the

stadard o the reasoable ad prudet ladower. it has bee recosed that ths

test souds spler tha t really s: t postulates soe deree o owlede o the

part o ladowers whch ust ecessarly all short o the owlede possessed by

scetc arborcultursts but whch ust surely be reater tha the owlede

possessed by the ordary urba observer o trees or eve o the coutrya otpractcally cocered wth ther care5.

i dvdual cases, the courts have souht to apply ths eeral stadard to the

acts o each case6. However, there s o clear ad uabuous dcato ro the

courts reard to the extet o the owlede about trees a ladower s expected

to br to tree specto ters o type ad reularty o specto. geerally, the

courts appear to dcate that the stadard o specto s proportoal to the sze o

ad resources avalable ( ters o expertse) to the ladower7,8,9,10&11. it s o ote

that the H states the H ector iorato mute Management of the risk from

falling trees(H 2007), that: for trees a requetly vsted zoe, a syste or

perodc, proactve checs s approprate. hs should volve a quc vsual chec or

obvous ss that a tree s lely to be ustable ad be carred out by a perso wth a


34/104

N T S G


wor owlede o trees ad ther deects, but who eed ot be a arborcultural

specalst. ior sta who wor pars or hhways as to what to loo or would

orally suce.

i eeral ters, a ladower ust dety those trees whch ht, they ell,

pose a rs to people or property. He should the spect such trees ad dety ay

obvous deects the trees. i the ladower does ot have sucet owlede otrees to eable h to dety such obvous deects, he should eae soeoe who

has. Hav deted a deect, the ladower ( sucetly owledeable), or

soeoe wth approprate owlede ad expertse, should assess the rs posed by

the deect ad tae approprate acto, whch ht ea urther otor o the

deect, pru o the tree or ell (see hapter 4).

uber o cooly ecoutered obvous deects are llustrated fure 3

hapter 4 geeral eatures to loo out or whe assess a tree.

OccuP B c 1957

he ccupers Lablty ct 1957 provdes or the lablty o a occuper o lad whe

a accdet occurs o the lad to a perso who s a vstor to the lad (or cotlad

otine tree inspetion. Andy Tipping, Barnet Council


35/104

N T S G

W H H L W Y 35

1

2

4

5

whatthela

ws

ays

3

see the ccupers Lablty (cotlad) ct 1960, or norther irelad see the

ccupers Lablty ct (norther irelad) 1957). he occuper owes a duty to the

vstor to tae such care as all the crcustaces o the case s reasoable to see

that the vstor wll be reasoably sae us the preses or the purposes or whch

he/she s vted or pertted by the occuper to be there12. he duty o care uder

the ct s eectvely the sae as that at coo law respect o the torts o

elece or usace.

perso vst lad by vrtue o the natoal Pars ad ccess to the

outrysde ct 1949, the outrysde ad hts o Way ct 2000 (oW) or the

mare ad oastal ccess ct 2009 s ot classed as a vstor wth the ea

o L 195713. he perso caot, thereore, br a cla uder the L 1957.

However, he/she ay stll potetally br a cla elece or, approprate,

uder L 1984.

OccuP B c 1984

he ccupers Lablty ct 1984 provdes or a occupers lablty to people other

tha vstors, partcular trespassers, crcustaces where the occuper ows o

the potetal presece o such people o ther lad ad o the rs posed to the by

eatures o the lad such as trees, ad the rs s oe aast whch, all the

crcustaces, the occuper ay reasoably be expected to oer the soeprotecto. for norther irelad see the ccupers Lablty (norther irelad)

rder 1987.

he duty uder secto 1 o the ct to a perso o access lad the exercse o

a rht to roa coerred by secto 2(1) o oW 2000 wll be detered hav

reard to the act that the exstece o the rht ouht ot to place a udue burde

upo the occuper, ad hav reard to the portace o ata the character

o the coutrysde14.

he duty uder L 1984 s also lted that o duty wll arse respect o

rss result ro ay atural eature o the ladscape (whch wll clude a tree),

or ro ay rver, strea, dtch or pod15, provd that the occuper does ot

tetoally or reclessly create the rs16

.

NNg NOc

war otce that wars o a specc daer posed by a tree (or trees) ay be

sucet to absolve a occuper ro lablty that they ay, by such otce, have

tae all reasoable care or the vstors saety the crcustaces17. However,

eeral, a ladower should ot rely upo war ss aloe to protect aast a

daer. busess occuper caot by reerece to ay cotract ter, or to a otce,

exclude or restrct hs lablty or death or persoal jury result ro elece

or a breach o duty uder L 195718

, save where the access to the lad s ve

or educatoal or recreatoal purposes (ucoected wth the purpose o

the busess)19.


36/104

N T S G


cOmPNON c

ecto 1 o the opesato ct 2006 provdes that:

A court considering a claim in negligence or breach of statutory duty may, in determining

whether the defendant should have taken particular steps to meet a standard of care

(whether by taking precautions against a risk or otherwise), have regard to whether a

requirement to take those steps might:

(a) prevent a desirable activity from being undertaken at all, to a particular extent in a

particular way, or

(b) discourage persons from undertaking functions in connection with a desirable activity.

he ter a desrable actvty s ot deed by the ct ad s lely to be costrued

so as to ve a wde ea to the ter. it s lely, thereore, that t cludes a

actvty such as the row o trees. Whle the ct reorces the portace o be

able to balace the aety, health, ad other trsc bodversty values o trees

aast the rs posed by a tree, t s doubtul whether t wll aterally alter the

courts approach to clas ars ro all trees. he ct apples oly to cvl

clas ad ot to cral prosecutos.

The criminal law

he Health ad aety at Wor etc ct 1974 places a duty o eployers to esure, soar as s reasoably practcable, that the course o coduct ther uderta,

eployees ad ebers o the publc are ot put at rs (sectos 2(1) ad 3(1)

respectvely, see also secto 3(2) respect o sel-eployed persos). he acts o

ell or lopp a tree clearly all wth the scope o ths duty. it s also lely that the

row ad aaeet o trees o lad alls wth the scope o the duty such

operatos all wth the eployers uderta.

he duty s subject to the words so ar as s reasoably practcable. hs provso

requres a eployer to address the practcal ad proportoate precautos whch

ca be tae to reduce a rs. he courts have eerally bee uwll to tae to

accout evroetal or aesthetc values whe cosder whether a step s

reasoably practcable, co the cosderato to whether a precautoarystep ca practcally be udertae20. nevertheless, HSE v North Yorkshire

County Council(20.5.10) Wle J., whe drect the jury as to the ea

o reasoably practcable, deted as a ateral cosderato the beets o

coduct the actvty.

He sad (ng ephass):

Now, in this context what does reasonably practicable mean? Well, as you have been told

correctly, it is a narrower concept than what is physically possible. It requires a computation

to be made by the employer in which the amount of risk is placed on one scale and the

sacrice involved in the measures necessary for averting the risk, whether in terms of money,

time or trouble, or the benets of conducting the activity, are placed in the other. If there is

a gross disproportion between them where the risk to health and safety is insignicant in


37/104

N T S G

W H H L W Y 37

1

2

4

5

3

whatthela

ws

ays

relation to the sacrice and/or loss of benet involved in averting that risk then the

defendant discharges the onus upon him and is entitled to be acquitted, but if the

defendant does not persuade you of that on the balance of probabilities then you

would convict.

he maaeet o Health ad aety at Wor eulatos 1999 requre eployers,

ad sel-eployed persos, by reulato 3 to ae a sutable ad sucet

assesset o the rss to the health ad saety o persos ot hs eployet

ars out o or coecto wth the coduct by h o hs uderta. hs

requres a eployer, ad a sel-eployed perso, to udertae a rs assesset o

the tree stoc o the lad whch ors part o the uderta.

Breach o the duty uder the ct, or the reulatos derved ro the ct, ca

ve rse to a cral prosecuto aast the eployer. orceet o the ct s

vested the H ad, soe staces, local authortes. he H has provded

udace or ts spectors ad local authorty eorceet ocers coecto

wth the specto o trees the ector iorato mute Management of the risk

from falling trees(H 2007)21.

he resposbltes uder cral law prarly arse respect o eployers,

sel-eployed persos ad those who cotrol a busess uderta. However,

resposbltes uder cral law ca also, exceptoal crcustaces, arse

respect o aslauhter by corporate udertas or dvduals, lead to a polce

vestato ad possble prosecuto (see the Wor elated Death Protocol 2003).

here has bee o prosecuto or aslauhter respect o all trees.


38/104

N T S G

38 c m m n n i k m n m n f


39/104

N T S G

n b , b n c i k m n m n 39

1

2

3

54

R, r rmgm

39


40/104

N T S G


A sense of proportionis vital. This can be

achieved only by

considering the trees

place in a wider

management context and

peoples relationship tothat context locally

The Tree Council


41/104

N T S G


1

2

3

4

5

Reason

able,balanced

tReeRiskmanagement

Introduction

Tree owners should take a balanced and proportionateapproach to tree managementchapter 4 develops the geeral approah to ehag good prate the setor. it

reogses that trees are aaged or a varety o reasos ad thereore that the

expetato o a sutale ad suet rs assesset reerred to y the H vares

wth otext.

i geeral, the rs ro trees has ertaly reahed the stuato where resdual

rss (those that rea ater aageet or saety) are suetly low that

vestet addtoal easures s lely to e dsproportoate to ay saety

eet. s the H tsel otes Reducing risks, protecting people:

Any informed discussion quickly raises ethical, social, economic and scientic

considerations, for example: how to achieve the necessary trade-offs between benets to

society and ensuring that individuals are adequately protected; the need to avoid the

imposition of unnecessary restrictions on the freedom of the individual.

chapter 4 also shows that a sese o proporto s vtal ths evaluato. hs a e

aheved oly y osderg the trees plae a wder aageet otext ad

peoples relatoshp to that otext loally.

How tHis idance Relates to otHeR docents

here are ay douets oerg gudae or aagg trees the otext o

pul saety. hese ted to e aed at proessoals suh as those volved

geeral tree surveyg1, ad to over spe ssues oeted wth tree hazard

assesset ad aageet2 ad tree-related rs3. oe atoal ad spealst

orgasatos have also produed gudae ludg or orestry4 ad ature

oservato5,6 ad or health ad saety regulators7. here s also poly gudae or

wder setor terests trees, ludg or pars8, greespaes9 ad aess to the

outrysde10.

Whle tree saety speto ad rs aageet s usually oly a sall part o aorgasatos wder ret, these ay have platos or roader tree

aageet. for exaple, tree speto s aturally eopassed wth the

gudae or hghway spetors as part o ther overall resposlty or pul

saety11

. lthough gudae devsed or the play setor12

does ot reer speally to

trees, t ay oetheless e hghly relevat to the orulato o tree saety poles.

hese exaples, though y o eas exhaustve, deostrate the sope o

adve ad gudae already rought to ear o tree saety aageet. beause

the rage o adve s ot eessarly proportoate to the rs ad does ot

eessarly tae aout o the eets that trees provde, the n has drated ths

staeholder-supported douet, ased o wde osultato, to provde a

tegrated approah to reasoale tree rs aageet.


42/104

N T S G


Extremely low risk of harmH gudae or ts spetors ad loal authorty eoreet oers o the

stadard o tree rs aageet ad the m researh ossoed y the

n o ehal o ladowers or that the overall real rs o serous har ro

trees the Uk s extreely low13

. ideed, the levels o rs are so low that they are

oparale to those that people regard as sgat or trval ther daly lves,

ear the otto o the spetru o what the H osders as aeptale rs:

Risks falling into this region are generally regarded as insignicant and adequately

controlled. We, as regulators, would not usually require further action to reduce risks unless

reasonably practicable measures are available. The levels of risk characterising this region

are comparable to those that people regard as insignicant or trivial in their daily lives.

They are typical of the risk from activities that are inherently not very hazardous or from

hazardous activities that can be, and are, readily controlled to produce very low risks.14

Legal requirementshe law requres oly that people should tae reasoale are to avod ats or

ossos whh ause a reasoaly oreseeale rs o jury to persos or

property15. What does ths ea prate? chapter 3 outles the legal

agroud surroudg tree owers resposlty or the saety o ther trees.

he geerally agreed stadard to e aheved s that o a reasoale ad prudetladower.

Responsible managementadowers who already sesly aage ther trees a e reasoaly odet

that there s o eed or ay radal hage drve y a ear o the law, though they

ay d ths gudae useul whe revewg aageet prate. esposle

aageet should seldo result large-sale tree reoval or saety reasos.

no tree a e guarateed to e sae. s log as we reta trees, we aot aheve

zero rs. dsproportoate respose to the atual rss posed y trees leads to

ueessary terveto, partularly alogsde roads ad pul plaes.

sproportoately respodg to rs tsel rus the rs o dshg theladsape ad deprvg the whole outy o the ejoyet o trees ad ther

wder eets.

essentials of a Reasonable, balanced appRoacH

he uer o trees or whh owers are resposle vares eorously, as do the

eas avalale or ther aageet. hs gudae oers a raewor or tree

owers to aage ther trees reasoaly, ored o the reasos why trees are

portat. uh a raewor allows the ower to estalsh a proportoate approah

to pratal tree aageet or the reasoale saety o vstors ad passers-y. hs

approah s ased o ahevg a alae etwee, o the oe had, the eets

trees provde to the evroet ad to people, ad, o the other had, rss posed


43/104


44/104


45/104

N T S G


1

2

3

4

5

Reason

able,balanced

tReeRiskmanagement

a e haratersed aordg to the level o pedestra, vehle or other use ad

zoed ters o ther level o usage. hereore, the tree was to ollapse ad o

oe was wth reah o t, the there would e o rs. o, a large tree presets aeglgle rs regardless o whether or ot t s hazardous, t s growg a area

where ew people go.

Key steps in tree safety management

tHe essentials

reasoale ad alaed approah ors the ass o a tree saety strategy or

sesle tree saety aageet. by a strategy, we ea a pla that gudes

aageet desos ad prate, a reasoale ad ost-eetve way, typally

overg three essetal aspets:

zog: appreatg tree sto relato to people or property tree speto: assessg ovous tree deets

aagg rs at a aeptale level: detyg, prortsg ad udertag

saety wor aordg to level o rs.

tree saety strategy ay ot eessarly e supported y extesve reords. it ay

e sel-evdet through geeral prudet prate ad ehavour. lteratvely, a

strategy ay e expltly orulated ad expressed through douets relatg to

aageet prate. i reasoaly arred out, the strategy should eet the duty o

are requred y law, wthout the eed or a overly ureaurat approah or

exessve paperwor. i the evet o a adet, douets ay provde supportg

evdee that reasoale are has ee tae.

a ugu (Ganoderma applanatum) h m hv m r r .


46/104


47/104

N T S G


1

2

3

4

5

Reason

able,balanced

tReeRiskmanagement

zoes, the evet o a adet whhever syste s adopted ay requre

justato aordg to the stadard set.

wHat to consideR and wHo sHold do tHe woRk

s a rst step tree rs aageet, the trees loato the otext o levels ouse s ey to uderstadg what rss, ay, ay e assoated wth the. he

assesset should osder all the trees o the property ad detere whh are

areas o hgh pul aess, or ould all oto areas o pul use or oto property that

ould e daaged.

norally, the est perso to do a tal assesset s soeoe alar wth the

lad, how t s used ad what trees are preset. ypally, ths ould e the ladower,

ouper or lad aager. it does ot requre a tree spealst to zoe a ste.

tRees witHin fallin distance of Roads, Railways etc.

ually, aog the relatvely ew adets ro allg trees, the greatest rs to

pul saety has proved to e ro trees wth allg dstae o where people

ove at speed vehles. However, eve trees well-used areas pose a overall level

o rs to pul saety that s extreely low. average over the past deade, our

people a year have ded ro roadsde trees allg oto vehles or ro ollsos

wth alle trees, aly eause:

rs o har ro allg trees s related to the ore o pat

the lelhood ad extet o har s ueed y the speed at whh vehles

ay pat

rss are hgher whe vehles are travellg at speed hgh wds.

it s oth the hgh usage o roads ad the speed at whh people travel alog thethat aes ths the ost lely way that people wll e lled y trees17

.

r w, smr. Forestry Commission/Ross Hoddinott


48/104

N T S G


tRees in aReas witH low pblic se ReqiRe less

fReqent inspection

rees areas o low pul use requre zog, ut ay staes ay oly

requre rregular speto, ay. i the aageet deso s ot to udertae a

speto ut to do oly a vsual he or, deed, ot to do a vsual he due to the

areas low use, ths eeds to e reorded as part o the zog pla.

not all tRees alonside all Roads pose a sinificant Risk

not all roads are usy roads ad ot all roadsde trees are large eough to ll or jure they all. it s oetheless reasoale that erta roadsde trees, partularly those

alogsde usy pul roads, should e speted. hs also apples to trees alogsde

ralways, where the tra speed ad uer o people who ould e aeted oe

det reases the level o rs.

tRees in aReas of HiH pblic se ReqiRe an

inspection Reie

it s reasoale to spet trees wth allg dstae o other well-used areas, suh as

ar pars, gardes ope to the pul or ura pul spaes. Zog aordg to

the levels o pul use helps to dede whh areas trees pose hgher rss tha

others ad how to alloate tree speto resoures reasoaly. ispeto wll vary

a -u u vr m rur rrgur . The Tree Council


49/104

N T S G


1

2

3

4

5

Reason

able,balanced

tReeRiskmanagement

aordg to the stes rustaes ad the owers poly, ueed y levels o

use ad the portae o ther trees. ve well-used areas, spetg ad

reordg eah tree s ot always eessary (see types o speto). rees wth

strutural aults, ut valued or ther hatat or aety terests, that are retaed

requetly-used areas ay requre spe assesset ad aageet. the

other had, trees well-used atural woodlad or woodlad surroudg housg or

a pul par ay oly warrat a oral or o-oerous prortsed syste o

assesset to dety trees warratg loser speto.

Trees in infrequently-used areashe rs o death or serous jury ro trees requetly-used areas s so low that t

s reasoale that these should reeve o oral speto or vsual he. However,

owers ay eed to respod to ay reports o proles.

Tree inspectionhe three types o spetos are:

oral oservatos

oral spetos

detaled spetos.

followg zog aordg to levels o pul use, t s eessary to dety whh

trees requre speto. hs s arred out o-ste sply y walg or drvg

aroud the areas wth trees (see foral spetos seto elow). he seleto o a

tree or loser speto s ueed y ts sze, odto ad the level o use wth

ts allg dstae. sesle judget s requred so that the ladower does ot

waste resoures. for exaple, groups o youg trees ear well-used areas ay e

geerally osdered to pose low rs ad ot warrat urther speto.

he ter speto ay over a whole rage o atvtes, ro a superal

oral oservato, to a qu, vsual he ad the to a detaled, deve-asssted

speto. ispetos are arred out y o-spealsts through to spealsts traed

to deret levels o opetee ad experee. Whle tehology a assst spetg portat trees uder exeptoal rustaes, oral, day-to-day

oservato s the ost useul soure o orato ad provdes the prpal ass

o tree assesset. he terested, o-expert, arg tree ower or oservat passer-y

plays a treedously portat part atag the aowledged low level o

threat posed y trees the Uk. he level o resoures alloated to tree speto s

ueed y the uer ad qualty o trees ad the type ad level o surroudg use.

infoRal obseRations

ioral oservatos o trees otrute to wder aageet ad tree saety. i

soe rustaes, oral oservato ay e osdered reasoale ad

approprate. People wth good loal owledge ad alarty wth loal trees ad


50/104

N T S G


ther surroudgs are geerally aware o the, ludg potetally dagerous

stuatos that ay arse ro the. ve the geeral extreely low rs posed y

trees, pul saety a e addressed as part o the propertys wder aageet.

choosg to aage the rs y oral oservato s ot a reaso to do

othg. he deso to rely o oral oservatos ust st wth a aageet

raewor that aowledges, respods to ad ats upo ay deets reported y

these oral oservatos.

ypally, where owers rely o oral oservato, they loo at ther trees

relato to ther health ad strutural odto, ad at upo ay rustaes

posg uaeptale rss. larly, sta resposle or aagg or atag the

property do ot go out o ther way to assess the trees. hey are struted to e

aware o the trees health ad odto as part o ther other daly tass, detyg

strutural weaess or atual alure that pose a et threat to pul saety ad

that would e patetly apparet to a o-expert.

eports o tree-related saety proles arsg ro oral oservatos y sta

or eers o the pul reportg should e ated upo. itally, ths ay tae the

or o a oral speto y a opetet eer o sta or a exteral spetor.

hs ay the result o urther ato eg requred, or tree surgery, ellg or

pleetg easures to aage the area wth allg dstae o the tree.

foRal inspections

i a oral speto, soeoe vsts the tree wth the spe purpose o perorg

a speto that s ot detal to other atvtes. he spetru o oral

speto rages ro survey wor or tree vetores, to health ad odto

assessets. hese ay e arred out through drve-y ad wal-over

spetos or groud-ased vsual hes. rve-y ad wal-over spetos are

aepted types o reasoale rs assesset uder erta rustaes. it should

e oted that relae o drve-y spetos s ot approprate usy ura areas.

ital drve-y spetos a, whe approprate, assst dedg where tree

aageet, wal-over or detaled speto ght e eessary. Wal-over

spetos ay ot dety hdde eatures, suh as ugal rutg odes tued the trees roots. ple oral speto, through groud level vsual hes the

ourse o wal-over surveys, provdes a useul, ost-eetve eas o detyg lear

ad preset sgs o edate stalty (uprootg or other strutural alure). hs

s a portat eas o detyg whe pressg ato s eeded, ludg

urther spealst speto.

detailed inspections

ve that ost trees preset a extreely low rs, t s ureasoale to expet that

every tree a gve area should reeve a detaled speto; to do so would e

grossly dsproportoate to the eet gaed rs reduto. he eed or detaled

speto typally apples oly to dvdual, hgh-value trees whh have ee


51/104

N T S G


1

2

3

4

5

Reason

able,balanced

tReeRiskmanagement

deted ro oral oservato or oral speto, as gvg hgh-prorty

oer well-used zoes. he detaled speto s orally prortsed aordg

to the level o saety oer. it usually etals a tal groud-level, vsual

assesset y a opetet spealst loog at the exteror o the tree or sgs o

strutural alure. i a ew speal ases, urther detaled vestgatos ay e

requred, volvg oe or ore o the ollowg: sol ad root odto assessets,

aeral spetos o upper tru ad row, or other proedures to evaluate the

ature o suspeted deay ad deets, ludg usg spealst dagost tools.

etaled spetos are thereore uusual, typally reserved or trees valued or ther

hertage aety or hatat ad whh are suspeted o posg a hgh level o rs, as

already deted through ower terest or a prevous oral or oral assesset.

Who can carry out tree inspections?

wHo can ake infoRal obseRations?

People wth good loal owledge ad alarty wth loal trees are suted to

arryg out oral oservatos. ypally, ths does ot requre a tree spealst,

ut rather those losely assoated wth a property, suh as the ower, gardeer,

other eployee or aget, who uderstads the way the property s used (areas ost

ad least requeted) ad the extet o the dager, should a tree e oud that sallg apart or uprootg. eports o proles y sta or eers o the pul are a

udaetal part o oral oservatos ad should e ated upo.

wHo can ake a foRal inspection?

foral spetos do ot eessarly requre spe qualatos ut do requre

geeral tree owledge ad the alty to reogse oral ad aoral

appearae ad growth or the loalty. ispetors eed the apaty to assess

approxate tree heght ad allg dstae ro the tree to the area o use ad

whe to request a detaled speto. hey also eed a alty to reogse

ovously vsle sgs o serous ll health or sgat strutural proles, suh as

sustatal ratured rahes or a rog root plate whh, were they to ause treealure, ould result serous har.

wHo can do a detailed inspection?

etaled spetos requre a approprately opetet perso, expereed the

eld o vestgato that s to e arred out. Whoever s ossog the detaled

speto should satsy theselves as to the sutalty o the spetors

qualatos, experee ad proessoal dety ad pul lalty surae.

Proessoal odes who a oer gudae are lsted the otats seto at the

ed o ths douet. spealst volved odutg a detaled tree speto

should e ale to deostrate the reasoale ass or alloatg rss aordg to

prorty, ad dety ost-eetve ways o aagg those tree-related rss.


52/104


53/104

N T S G


1

2

3

4

5

Reason

able,balanced

tReeRiskmanagement

ovu . The Tree Council

obios featRes

indicatin iediate

seRios stRctRal

failRe

uh eatures are surprsgly ew,ad lude:

atvely ltg root plate

heavy l atvely splttg or

reag away ro the tree

ste ratured, ovg ad

opeg eough to ph.

obios featRes tHat

ay indicate stRctRal

failRe

it s approprate to reat to treedeets as though they are all

edately hazardous. rowth

deortes ad other deets do

ot eessarly date strutural

weaess. Whe otg eatures

that ght date a lelhood o

weaess or ollapse, t s

portat that oer or rs o

alure s restrted to evets lely

the ear uture. rees exht a

wde rage o suh eatures, ad

the sope or terpretg ther

sgae s oplex,

partularly whe osderg the

lelhood o o-edate

alure. for exaple, aoales

tree growth ay date teral

deay ad hollowg; ut

aoales or ay e

attrutale to the tree havg

opesated or the deay, yehaally adaptg to atural

proesses.

a rag wth earth aroud

ase o root plate

b large avty at ase potetally

olosed wth wood deay ug

c splttg or ratures tru or

rahes

d deay old prug wouds

e rahes attahed at

struturally wea uos

e

d

c

b a


54/104

N T S G


udae relatg to speto requey vares greatly; there s o uorly

aepted requey approprate to all stuatos. he deso s a judget or the

ower, aget or advser, applyg sesle reasoale ehavour tag aout o

the ste rustaes as a ass or good prate. xaples are gve chapter 5

oeto wth several types o lad holdg ad rustaes.

General tree features to look for when inspecting treesaety speto eeds to osder eatures that ght aet the struture ad ther

sgae as hazards. fgure 3 llustrates a tree wth a rage o deets that would

e expeted to e learly detale ro a as vsual he.

Management

site consideRation

maageet optos are guded y the overall as that ght e deed a stes

strategy douet. i geeral, hoosg whh rs otrol easures to use whle

oservg the tree volves weghg up the osts ad eets. rees estow a wde

rage o eets (see ppedx 2) ad these should e osdered alog wth the

rss the tree ay preset. e ost-eetve way to redue the rs, wthout the osts

volved tree ateae, s to aage aess to the ste.

anain tHe tRees foR Habitat and aenity ale

Whe all the optos or aagg the area wth allg dstae o the tree have

ee explored or where pul exluso ro the area s ether desrale or

pratal, reedal tree wor wll e eessary. it s advsale to udertae the

u wor eessary to redue rs to a aeptale level. maageet optos

should e dsussed wth the perso arryg out the wor. Where odversty ad

hatat have hgh value, a rage o treatet optos ay e approprate to reta

axu hatat alaed wth the eed or adequate saety. Wth hgh value trees,

ellg wll e a last resort ater tag to osderato all other optos. ve whe

ellg s speed, t ay e possle to reove a trees row ad reta the uprght,dead ste or ts hatat value as a oolth. felled trees ad trus ay also e let

o the groud to provde portat deadwood hatat.

anain tHe tRees witH aRyin inspection Reies

maageet optos also lude reasg the requey ad testy o

otorg the trees odto.

anain tHe aRea witHin fallin distance of tRees

Where portat trees are oud to preset sgat rss, resoures wll uee

desos o reteto. Whe a tree rs assesset has deted a stuato requrg

ato, optos are avalale or aagg people away ro the dager zoe. hs


55/104


56/104

N T S G


etve ways o deterrg aess are:

platg rales ad thory shrus

usg logs or ples o deadwood

allowg grass to grow

leavg rushwood aroud the tree

teporary exluso adverse weather odtos

hagg the areas use, eg to hay eadow ad or grazg.

Redcin Risks by pRoidin infoRation

and inteRpRetationProvdg orato to the pul a also play a portat part aagg rss.

xplaato ad terpretato o the rss ad hose aageet optos s also

helpul reasg pul uderstadg o the ssues. hs a lude the use o

sgs ad otes, ether at pots o etry or ar pars, or out o ste.

balancin Risk witH benefits

utdoor atvty reases e weather, wth people reag loger erta

areas. i suer, oe opto to redue rs ro allg rahes s y the sple

prate o ot owg uder the trees drp-le. However, wth the play setor

there s a strog reogto that t s portat or hldre to get a to ature,ludg terato wth trees. esos eed thereore to alae eets wth

rss whe osderg segregatg trees ad people.

Insurancelatg trees to reove all rs s udesrale ad dsproportoate the lght o

all the wde rage o eets they provde. ve all the adve ad gudae

otaed ths douet s ollowed, there wll always e a resdual rs. Volet

stors ad upredtale evets a result tree alures leadg to har. isurae

provdes or suh evetualtes, as t does other spheres o le. wers are advsed

to have surae approprate to ther rustaes ad to esure that ayoe who

advses the, or does wor to trees, s also approprately ad adequately sured.


57/104

N T S G


1

2

3

4

5

Reason

able,balanced

tReeRiskmanagement


58/104

N T S G

58 m m k m g m t f t


59/104


60/104

N T S G

60 m m k m g m t f t

Scenario 1: Householder

General description

cenario 1 is a deached hoe, i has severa rees and shrs. oe are on he ondary. to

rees in he ron arden overhan he conci-oned aveen and a qie, residenia road.

onersHip / control of manaGement

rb s he oner o he and, he oners have resonsiiiy and a dy

o care.

abuu

the oners are een ardeners have no secic aroricra noede and

hereore are rearded as ay eoe.

HoldinG

l 0.2 hecares

nub even rees, incdin a are an and o are ae rees.

access

privae access: here is no ic rih o ay over he and. to rees overhan he ic road.

enefits of trees

the oners enjoy heir arden and he rees in i. s e as rovidin coor, shade and

ornaena ineres, hey ive he soe rivacy ro he road and neihorin roeries.

they enjoy harvesin he ri and ns and aso areciae he idie hey arac. they

ndersand he conriion ha heir rees ae o he ider environen, in ers o he

easan eay neihorhood and ho his increases he vae o heir hoe.

natral livinG orGanisms

the oners no ha i he o rees overhanin he road ere o a or ose a i, assers-y

and road sers cod e aeced. the road is reary sed y oca, residenia rac; occasionay

this chaer conains soe scenarios deaiin sesions o ho o carry o a anaeen

ans saey coonen in a reasonae and roorionae ay. they are indicaive exaes o

assis ree oners ho shod oo or he coses scenario o heir aricar circsances.

they are: 1 Hosehoder

2 bsiness resriced or iied ic access (ar/rivae esae)

3 bsiness oen o he ic (hoe)

4 loca ahoriy rra

5 loca ahoriy ciy conci

6 lare esae ih ic access


61/104

N T S G

H w t H g u u l b p p l 61

1

2

3

4

5

Ho

wt

HisGuidance

co

uldbeapplied

eoe a y on he aveen hroho he day. s ar as saey is concerned, hey cassiy

hese o rees as he os ioran in he arden, and do no consider hese rees o e o

concern hoh hey reconise ha hey have an oiaion o reven he ro iedin access

aon he ooah and road. the reainin rees are considered o e o o iorance.

reasonale, alanced tree safety manaGement

mg the oners chec heir rees as ar o heir enera care or he hose and arden.

hey deec anyhin nsa ao he, hey ca a oca ree sreon, ho can e i

any reedia or needs o e done. there is no rear reqency o his rocess.

c s reasonae and rden andoners resonsie or rees, hey are ae o reconise

and ndersand he sinicance o ovios visa deecs and e ae o carry o heir

on insecion ha ay res in needin o oain rher advice. they se a

recoended ree sreon hey eieve is caae o rovidin sch advice and

nderain any or reqired.

r they do no ee any ora record o heir ad hoc oservaions, hey do ee

records o corresondence and invoices or any advice or or carried o.

rb they do no noray orry ao heir rees are occasionay concerned ha in

sron inds ars o a ree cod a. they have iven his hoh and ihin he

rane o coss hey have or heir roery as a hoe hey consider heir exend

Documents

Common Sense Risk Management of Trees National Tree Safety Group