Tree Survey - Who does them & How much??

Naux

I'm based in Galway and I have to submit a tree survey of my site to the County Council. Does anyone know of a company/person that does these in the west? Does anyone know how much they cost?

Any advice much appreciated.

CJhaughey

We had this as part of our planning as well, The engineer was rubbing his hands together but the council informed us that it had to be done by a horticulturalist.
By the time all the wrangling and counterwrangling had finished they had forgotten all about the survey!
I would get a friend who knows something about trees to mark it on the folio.
I wouldn't take it too seriously, just put in that you intend to plant to minimise visual impact and that all trees on site will be protected during site works.

Qwerty?

You could try treecare.ie, they are based in mayo, i haven't had any dealings with them, but i am planning on getting firewood off them for xmas

KAGY

Naux wrote:

I'm based in Galway and I have to submit a tree survey of my site to the County Council. Does anyone know of a company/person that does these in the west? Does anyone know how much they cost?

Any advice much appreciated.

Stick a message up in GMIT, or UCG for a final year student or postgrad. I think that they both do horticultural course.

Naux

CJhaughey wrote:

We had this as part of our planning as well, The engineer was rubbing his hands together but the council informed us that it had to be done by a horticulturalist.
By the time all the wrangling and counterwrangling had finished they had forgotten all about the survey!
I would get a friend who knows something about trees to mark it on the folio.
I wouldn't take it too seriously, just put in that you intend to plant to minimise visual impact and that all trees on site will be protected during site works.

Tks for the info CJ, I was unsure about how seriously the council treats these things and how "official" the study would have to be.

I'll see if I can locate a NUIG student who might like to take on a field study.

GreeBo

or how about Teagasc?

paulocon

Didn't realise what the survey was until I saw other posts here.

My neighbour had a recently-graduated student do this with his application (went with the initial application). Think he had someone mark trees on the site map or folio as well as his proposed tree-planting scheme..

Naux

paulocon wrote:

Didn't realise what the survey was until I saw other posts here.

My neighbour had a recently-graduated student do this with his application (went with the initial application). Think he had someone mark trees on the site map or folio as well as his proposed tree-planting scheme..

I could nearly mark the location of the trees myself as the whole site is densely covered in mainly ash and beech trees so I'd just have to put dots everywhere on the map!!!!

Are you based in the west Paulocon??

paulocon

Naux,

You'll have some fun there!!

I am based in the North-East (my neighbour was under the remit of Louth County Council)...

Paul H.

Guys

The tree survey is a general requirement in order that the Planners may assess the potential impact that construction may have on the trees. The following data is often necessary:

1. Tree species and dimensions
2. Quality Assessment and Category Grading
3. Tree Constraints Plan (root protection area, daylight consideration etc.)
4. Tree Protection Plan (protective fencing)
5. AutoCAD Design and location of trees in relation to the application
6. Arboricultural Method Statement
7. Tree Protection Specification
8. Hard surface and underground services installation techniques
9. Tree Management Data (sustainable development)

Mature trees can add up to 15% to the commercial value of the property and are a material consideration and as such may well become a material constraint in the planning process.

It ain't horticulture, it's arboriculture and trees without protection don't last very long.

I know of a couple of consultants in the west if anyones interested for future applications.

Paul Hawksford
Principal Arboricultural Consultant
ARBOR CONSULTING (NI) www.arborconsulting.co.uk

Naux

Paul H. wrote:

Guys

The tree survey is a general requirement in order that the Planners may assess the potential impact that construction may have on the trees. The following data is often necessary:

1. Tree species and dimensions
2. Quality Assessment and Category Grading
3. Tree Constraints Plan (root protection area, daylight consideration etc.)
4. Tree Protection Plan (protective fencing)
5. AutoCAD Design and location of trees in relation to the application
6. Arboricultural Method Statement
7. Tree Protection Specification
8. Hard surface and underground services installation techniques
9. Tree Management Data (sustainable development)

Mature trees can add up to 15% to the commercial value of the property and are a material consideration and as such may well become a material constraint in the planning process.

It ain't horticulture, it's arboriculture and trees without protection don't last very long.

I know of a couple of consultants in the west if anyones interested for future applications.

Paul Hawksford
Principal Arboricultural Consultant
ARBOR CONSULTING (NI) www.arborconsulting.co.uk

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the info.

The majority of the trees on the site are relatively young with trunk diameters ranging from 6 inches to 18 inches. They are growing very close together generally. I do not intend to take out any of the trees on the site apart from the footprint of the house & garage but I suspect thinning out the rest of the site in the future would be of benefit.

Send me a PM with details of the consultants in the west if you get a chance.

Tks

Naux

Navilluso

Naux, I'm based in Galway and there's a number of reasons you may have been asked for tree survey. The most likely one is that the Heritage Officer requested it. You need to be careful to find out whether the survey is for landscape purposes or to give details regarding the ecological value of the trees. If it's for landscaping (are you in connemara or a scenic area) you may be required to survey the trees acurately and identify the ones you intend to keep. Your survey is essentially the baseline that the council will use, allowing them to come back out and check if you've kept what you said you would (I've seen this done in Clare, but not in Galway yet). Alternatively, the heritage officer has sent a general guidance note to your planner asking for a tree survey. In this case it doesn't need to be a full arboricultural assessment, rather a survey showing the trees on site and listing the species present. There's no course in NUIG. GMIT do a forrestry course and there might be guys there, but their line of business is mainly planting and managing forestry. There are a few companies in town who do this type of work, but you need to be specific about why you need the survey or you'll possibly end up paying more than you need to. This might be more clear from the text of your FI letter, or it may require a phonecall to your planner. If any other 'ecological' issues are raised in your FI, it might also be a clue. Strange request for a one off house, but maybe that's the way things are going now. pm me if you need more info.