Felling a TPO’d Yew – Appeal Lost- Grandchildren might Eat Berries..!!

Here at Telford and Wrekin Council we have just heard the results of an appeal against the Council to permit the felling of a TPO’d Yew tree in a private garden based purely on the fact that the grandchildren might eat the berries that fall and the foliage.

Following various refusals to fell (no applications ever submitted to prune or manage the tree in any way)this tree it eventually ended up at the appeal stage where it was claimed that the grand parents had to contunually monitor that grand children because they could not be left alone with this tree in the garden.

The ramifications of this decision may well be far reaching, must we now fell all Yew trees in public open spaces, does this include trees within church yards- open or closed and are all Yew tree owners wide open to prosecution from the general public if their tree or parts thereof are found to be the cause of illness, distress or concern.

Some of the Yew trees we have in our respective landscapes exceed a 1000 years old and are the stuff of legend. There is a nationally recorded database of the oldest Yews we have in the country. These trees are considered by most to be one of the jewels in the crown of our native tree collection and yet we appear to be now faced with a barrage of claims or applications to fell these trees based on a single misconception.

Is there an appeals process the Council can now follow to put right this wrong?

National Tree Officer’s Conference 2016 – Call for Papers Now Open

ltoa    Inst-charter-fores        

Click here to download information

 

National Tree Officer’s Conference 2016 – Call for Papers Now Open

 

2 February 2016

 

The first National Tree Officer’s Conference is being organised by the London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) and the Municipal Tree Officers Association (MTOA)

and facilitated by the Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF). The conference will provide an opportunity for tree officers to present to their colleagues on the latest research, best practice and innovation in different areas of local authority arboricultural work.

The conference will be held on the 9th November 2016, at the Oakengates Theatre, Limes Road, Telford, TF2 6EP (www.theplacetelford.com). Conference bookings will open later in the year at www.charteredforesters.org/tree-officers-conference

The submission period for abstracts is now open and will close on the 14th April 2016.

Abstracts are to be a maximum of 500 words and will be considered on a wide range of subjects that are relevant to the remit of a tree/woodland/planning officer. (Abstracts will only be considered from local government (LG)-employed tree officers and woodland officers.) For guidance, the following subject headings are suggested:

  • Tree strategies/policy/tree database innovation
  • Biosecurity
  • Tree risk management
  • Case studies – tree projects and or best practice
  • Tree related planning and enforcement case studies
  • Raising the profile of trees with the LG setting/working effectively with Politicians
  • Tree planting
  • Working well with the public/tree groups/forums/friends of groups.

 

Abstracts will be reviewed by a selection committee (Russell Horsey MICFor, Matthew Seabrook, Al Smith MICFor, Jake Tibbetts) and selection will be based on overall quality, appropriateness, focus, and the practical nature of material and appeal to a tree officer audience.We look forward to seeing you at the conference, and receiving a wide range of abstracts.Submissions by email to: Becky Porter, London Tree Officers Association executive.officer@ltoa.org.uk.

 

Brace Yourself – Next MTOA Seminar 22nd October – Himley Hall, Dudley

It’s not just Skegness in summer which is bracing, as the next MTOA seminar is entitled ‘Brace Yourself’. This event will be held at Himley Hall near Dudley on the 22nd of October this year (2015). As you may have guessed from the title, this will be all about cable bracing, so this is a chance to get up to date on this subject.

Further details on speakers and possible demo’s will posted asap. Rest assured this event will sell out, so book now by clicking on the link below:

Booking Form Brace yourself

TDAG Consultation- Trees and the Planning Process (deadline 5th July 2015)

TDAG South-West are looking to hear of your experiences in the delivery and management of effective tree protection, as part of the Planning process. Please note the consultation deadline has been extended until the 5th of July 2015. Please click on this link for further information on this consultation:

TDAGSW – Trees and the Planning Process Consultation 01-05-15

 

 

 

The Emerging Role of Urban Forestry in the New European Urbanism – 8 May 2015

Our friends at the Greater Yorkshire Tree Officer Group have Professor Alan Simson talking about the emerging role of urban forestry in the new european urbanism on the 8th May 2015 in York. This talk is free to attend. Further details below. If you want to attend please e-mail Paul Casey at Paul.Casey@harrogate.gov.uk

1-3:30pm – Professor Alan Simson (The Emerging Role of Urban Forestry in the New European Urbanism) – Including Q&A

Talk Outline

Human beings have had a long, deep cultural relationship with trees, woodlands and the landscape. This relationship transcends national cultures, and sits happily as an equal alongside our scientific, economic, ecological and spiritual relationships. Indeed, as W H Auden reminded us, ‘A culture is no better than its woods’. Thus trees have been a vital component of our cultural relationships with our landscapes since time began. There are those who believe however that, as Europe became a collection of urban communities – the UK officially becoming urban in 1851 – these links with trees became out-dated, as other issues became more pressing. They couldn’t be more wrong.

 

This talk will suggest that the concept of ‘urban forestry’ was born in the UK by the Quaker Industrialists of the Industrial Revolution, trace how the concept evolved, initially through the Garden City Movement, and illustrate how subsequently urban forestry has been developing a cannon of research – work that Leeds Beckett has been involved with – and how the concept has been making appreciable progress up the political agenda in Europe over recent years. This has been assisted by the fact that it has begun to develop an identifiable ‘European’ style, as opposed to practicing a version of the North American approach developed in the 1960’s.

 

This is significant, as Europe is in the process of undergoing profound change, change that originally was concerned with the unification of the continent and thus was essentially economically driven, but which now increasingly considers matters as diverse as the suspension of national borders and easier pan-continental travel. From a continent of competing countries, we are becoming a continent of competing regions and cities. One region’s gain can be another city’s loss and this is increasingly creating urban instability. This phenomenon is also mirrored in other parts of the developing world.

 

Although many European cities have reached the limits of conventional growth, they continue to expand. Thus the rules of the game are changing and this lecture will suggest that the conventional approaches to regulating urbanization are failing, as they are all too often seen as formulaic and unsustainable and thus are unable to attune to the increasingly unstable urban conditions. The talk will further suggest that, unlike the conventional approaches to urbanism, urban forestry is able to deal with these unstable conditions because it continually adapts and transforms and can accommodate a myriad of forces and initiatives and, as a result, move beyond the ‘green cosmetic’ to become an integral part of a new, more sustainable European urbanism.

 

The talk will be illustrated with examples from my own urban forestry journey of exploration and research, and will conclude with the suggestion that urban forestry is emerging as the prime catalyst for sustainable urbanism in Europe, on the basis that true wealth can only really be measured in terms of the well-being of people and the cultural sustainability of their environment.

 

Venue Address

City of York Council, West Offices, Station Rise, York, Y01 6GA

 

Location details are as follows:  http://www.york.gov.uk/info/200167/customer_services/776/west_offices_customer_centre

 

The venue is within easy walking distance of the train and bus stations.  The web-links below will be of use (If travelling by car, Nunnery Lane is the closest car-park):

 

http://www.york.gov.uk/info/200216/parking

http://www.york.gov.uk/info/200233/car_parks/324/car_parks/12

 

British Standard 8596 Surveying for Bats in Trees & Woodland – Consultation

BS8596 Surveying for Bats in Trees and Woodland

This British Standard has been released for review and the consultation period ends 31 May 2015

It gives guidance on surveying for bats in individual trees, groups of trees and in woodland. This includes The scoping, roost and activity surveys, and record keeping.

This Standard applies to the following:

– forestry and woodland managers and operatives, including woodland owners, managers, agents, foresters, contractors, conservation bodies and woodland advisors;

– arboriculturists, in particular tree work contractors;

– planning officers, local government ecologists and other government departments whose functions might bring them into contact with bats in trees or woodland (whether directly or indirectly);

– developers and associated professions, e.g. construction companies, demolition companies and landscape architects;

– ecological consultants, particularly those who have the potential to work on the specialist aspect of surveying for bats in trees;

– utility companies, infrastructure constructors and maintainers, and engineers; and

– flood risk managers.

This British Standard does not include guidance relating to bat surveys in buildings, underground sites or any habitat other than woodland or trees. It also does not give any guidance about the outcomes of the surveys undertaken, such as how woodland is managed or mitigation measures.

Review published: 30 March 2015

Review end date: 31 May 2015

You can find the consultation draft at:

http://drafts.bsigroup.com/Home/Details/54557