Tree Management and Liability Surveys

Tree Owner Responsibilities

Trees are dynamic organisms and are affected by disease, weather and climate, human activity and the surrounding location and environment in which they are growing. As such, their condition changes over time.

The Occupiers Liability Acts 1957 and 1984 and the Health & Safety At Work Act 1974 place a duty of care on the occupier of premises and land to ensure that so far as it is reasonably foreseeable that their property is maintained in a condition that is unlikely to cause harm either to visitors, including employees, or neighbours. Care should therefore be taken to ensure that trees are well-maintained and not in a hazardous condition that might cause harm or injury.

Timely and regular professional inspection in the form of regular tree 'MOT' health and condition surveys is the most reliable method available to tree owners to ensure that their associated liabilities are managed in a reasonable and defendable way.

SoundWood's Approach

With the experience of many years spent in managing large local authority tree stocks, we believe that it is not so much the condition of a tree that is so important - it is where it is growing that counts – No Target, No Risk, No Problem! For example, a large mature tree in the middle of a rarely visited field presents little risk of causing harm; whereas a similar specimen growing close to a busy road, school or dwelling has the potential to cause significant injury to persons or property. This is why at SoundWood we first undertake a risk appraisal of our client’s property, and zone areas according to the proximity and value of adjacent targets, prior to inspecting any trees.

We also understand that you cannot manage what you haven't measured. Once areas of risk priority have been identified and agreed, we undertake a detailed survey of all the significant trees growing within them.