How we manage our tree stock

The Council will undertake the following:

Annually:

• Inspect the health and safety of trees growing in our urban parks
• Inspect Council woodlands for health and safety

Every three years:

• Inspect health of trees growing in other Council-owned open spaces

For immediate attention:

• On request from householders inspect health of Council trees that adjoin private property boundaries
• Make safe without delay any council tree that has been inspected by the Council's arboricultural officer and assessed as posing a risk to public safety
• Prune branches of Council trees that have been assessed as causing or likely to cause damage to private property
• Undertake works to Council trees that pose a threat to users of the public highway (for example, highway visibility splays, street lighting, footpath encroachment)

The Council will always undertake works to fulfil its legal obligations to ensure the safety of the public and properties.

Tree Risk Management Plan

The Tree Risk Management Plan was developed to establish a system of regular monitoring and assessment of council owned trees on council owned land. The Plan has been in place since June 2013:

• Summary Tree Risk Management Plan (.pdf 543KB)

The Council will consider:

• Through consultation with Residents' Associations and property owners, requests for works to Council-owned trees which are neither unhealthy nor unsafe but are felt to have a significant negative effect on the local landscape

The Council will not:

• Inspect trees in private ownership, unless the trees are growing within a Conservation Area or are subject to Tree Preservation Order
• Remove a tree or undertake pruning works where there is no valid arboricultural reason
• Remove a tree or prune a tree to alleviate seasonal or naturally occurring problems (for example, falling leaves, fruit, seeds or berries, bird droppings or pollen)
• Support individual householder or resident association funded works to Council-owned trees, where the resulting tree works might have a negative impact upon the lives of local residents, long term health of the trees or local ecology
• Fund and undertake works to Council-owned trees for the purposes of improving the efficiency of solar installations on private property, creating or improving private views, improving television signal reception or increasing daylight levels within private property