BS 5837 Development Tree Reports
Tree Reports for Planning Applications
Elliott Consultancy Limited provide tree reports in accordance with British Standard 5837:2005 'Trees in Relation to Construction' which are designed to help guide the client, architects, planning consultants, site managers, and contractors, smoothly through the planning and development process, whilst helping to retain and protect suitable trees.
British Standard 5837 has put arboricultural input at the heart of planning applications for sites with trees on or adjoining. Recent rationalization of standard planning applications (1APP) has further resulted in BS 5837’s requirements becoming a mandatory factor within any planning proposal near trees.
BS 5837 broadly sets out a staged approach to aid the design and planning process (illustrated by chart to right) which includes the following documents:
Pre-design Stage:
- Initial Tree Survey – Trees are plotted, surveyed, and rated as to their retention values. This helps to inform the design process, allowing poor specimens to be disregarded, whilst highlighting more valuable trees for retention.
- Tree Constraints Plan – A plan prepared for the purpose of layout design showing root protection areas and above ground characteristics of trees. This infromation should be used in inform the design.
- Arboricultural Implications Assessment – A study to identify, evaluate, and possibly mitigate the extent and impact of a proposed development on the existing trees.
Planning Application & Construction Stage:
- Arboricultural Method Statement – A document that details all tree-related operations that will occur during the construction, including how the retained trees should be protected in accordance with BS5837:2005.
- Tree Protection Plan – a drawing showing finalised layout proposals, tree retention and tree protection measures detailed within the Arboricultural Method Statement.
Elliott Consultancy Limited can also undertake cost-effective pre-purchase assessments of prospective development land in order to indicate tree issues that may impact the sites profitability.
Utilising specialist software, Elliott Consultancy Limited are able to produce an illustration supported assessment detailing the likely progression of tree shadows across a site for any particular day of the year. Such information can be provided at the pre-design stage to inform site layout decisions or during an implications assessment to indicate potential post-development issues.
All of our plans are drafted to a high standard using CAD software, including ArborCAD – an industry specific software devised to provide detailed and specialised drawings to assist the development process.