Request us to work on our trees

Once you have raised a tree enquiry a Tree Officer will visit and inspect the tree and decide what work, if any, is required.  Any work carried out will be for the benefit of both the tree and the local area. 

The Council will manage trees in accordance with best Arboricutural practice including the pruning or removal of a tree if it is:

• diseased or dying.
• structurally damaged due to extreme weather.
• has an inherent growth defect that has the potential to cause a structural failure that may result in damage to property.
• causing an obstruction or nuisance to vehicles or pedestrians
• blocking road signage or street lighting.
• where routine maintenance is required to retain and maintain a healthy tree.

Our tree surgeons always work to British Standard 3998:2010 known as best Arboricutural practice, which means we won't always carry out work exactly as you request if it is not considered good Arboricutural practice.

    We will not carry out work on trees for the following reasons:

• Trees blocking light or affecting TV reception.  The council does not prune or cut down trees for the reason of blocking light or if they are affecting television reception. If you consider that trees are affecting your television reception you should contact your service provider to seek a solution.

• Trees obstructing solar panels.  The Council will not prune trees to clear solar panels or to prevent any future obstruction by trees to panels. When installing panels, you should always ensure that the future growth of any local vegetation is considered.

• Bird droppings, sap or pollen.  Pruning a tree will not stop sap or pollen fall, or birds perching on the remaining branches. While it is appreciated that droppings, sap and pollen can be inconvenient the Council will not prune or fell trees solely for this reason.

• Blossom, Leaf and Fruit fall.  Blossom, leaf, needle, and fruit fall are natural occurrences which are considered to be an expected social issue when living near to trees. The Council will not fell or prune trees to alleviate such problems caused by natural or seasonal phenomena. If leaves and fruit are causing a potential hazard please contact the street cleaning service.

• Damage to property.  If you consider a tree to be damaging your property, the first thing to do is to contact your home insurance provider for advice. If it is proven that a council tree has damaged your property or could in future cause damage to the property, the Council may carry out work on the tree.

• Tree roots damaging pipes.  It is very rare for underground water or waste pipes to be broken by the activity of tree roots.  Tree roots do not break into undamaged pipes but will take advantage of a pipe that is already damaged and the easily available water source it might provide. The Council do not carry out work on trees to prevent roots entering damaged pipes, as repairing the pipe is the best solution. If you suspect that a tree root is affecting a pipe on your property you should contact your home insurance provider.

• We do not formalise the height of trees in barrier screening beds and woodland blocks as this has an adverse impact on the natural appearance of the overall canopy of the tree lines and in turn the appearance and character of the landscaping of the area.

Press here to request tree work