The National Tree Safety Group states that “Managing the risk from trees is the responsibility of the owners and managers of the land on which they grow.” This responsibility covers everyone from home owners with a single tree in their garden, schools with trees around their perimeter, to parkland, industrial estates or building sites containing hundreds, or even thousands of trees.
Owners, occupiers and managers of any land containing trees need to be aware that they have a legal duty of care to “any person who can be reasonably foreseen as coming within the tree’s vicinity and being injured by a fall of the tree or a branch from the tree.”
Tree Heritage can carry out assessments of tree condition and produce a Safety Survey which will verify:
- Species, dimensions, age, vitality
- Condition, appearance, presence of disease or defects
- Pruning or tree surgery history
- Amenity evaluation
- Specification of recommended works
- Management or replacement planting plans
From the report produced, it is possible to assess the quality and sustainability of the tree resource and identify management priorities and specifications of works. This is necessary to satisfy insurance obligations in regard to occupiers’ and third party liability. It may also identify the need for more detailed investigation.