Magazine - Tree Management Seminar

By Editor in Training on 30th Jan 2007 9:30

A Tree Management Seminar - Thursday 22nd February 2007, Ramada Watford

Trees are an important resource and like all items of property are surrounded by a legal framework of rights and responsibilities. The management of liabilities, as part of any asset management programme, must include risks associated with trees to avoid claims arising.

Trees can be associated with the following problems:
• Damage to drains
• Damage to walls, paths and other light structures
• Damage to buildings due to subsidence on clay soils
• Trip and slip claims
• Hazard tree collapse and personal injury
• Boundary disputes

Not only is the identification of the scale and scope of the problems difficult, but managing occupier expectations, statutory controls (TPOs and Conservation Area controls), tree management and works programming is a costly and time
consuming business. Building surveyors from within the existing structure of Housing Associations and Land Management companies often have limited "tree knowledge" and ability to assess tree condition. Therefore the recommendations made in relation to trees and buildings is inconsistent and proper management of contractors, risk assessments, file audit, tree population, overall liabilities and management information is invariably difficult to obtain.

All of the above can impact on your budget, potentially building up long-term liabilities and exposing insurance policies and premiums to inflation. Equally works may be poor value or not applicable to the nature of the risk.

Landscape Planning has joined forces with Forbes Solicitors to provide a half day seminar dealing with the Tree Management and Liability issues facing Housing and Land Managers today.

Programme
10.00 Registration
10.30 Legal Framework - Robin Stephens, Forbes Solicitors
• Ownership of trees, fruit, branches and leaves and responsibility for windfall
• Overhanging branches
• Access to neighbours land and prevention of damage by neighbours trees
• Nuisance - with particular reference to subsidence caused by tree roots
• Negligence
• Tree Preservation Orders
• High Hedges
11.30 Risk Management - Landscape Planning
• Introduction and Overview - Oisin Kelly
• Effective Solutions - Paul Allen
• GeoHub - Making maps simple - Julian Roper
12.30 Questions
13.00 Lunch

To reserve a place register online at: www.landscapeplanning.co.uk

Please book early as numbers are limited. The cost of the seminar is £20.00 + VAT per delegate and includes lunch.

To book places for additional delegates please email lizzie.bonito@landscapeplanning.co.uk

Read more articles in Training, by Editor or from January 2007.