Tree Surgeons Move Giant Elm in Brighton

Jan. 23, 2012 - PRLog -- Trees Understood, one of the leading tree surgery companies in Brighton, has carried out several challenging and complex jobs in recent months, with one particularly demanding assignment drawing attention to the dangers and difficulties associated with the business.

A representative of Trees Understood, which is the only firm of its kind in Brighton to guarantee that the proprietor will attend each job from start to finish, described the magnitude of the task, stating that a century-old tree required moving over a house in Brighton.

The company representative said: “I was asked by a concerned resident to carry out a tree report on a 100-year-old Elm tree situated in the back of a pub in Hove. My client has lived under the shadow of this tree for many years and was concerned about the tree's safety and proximity to the boundary wall”.

Upon carrying out a site visit, the tree surgeon discovered that the boundary wall ought to have been the least of the client’s concerns; notwithstanding the fact that several bricks had been displaced by the tree, causing them to fall into the gardens of adjacent properties, the ancient Elm was subject to a TPO (Tree Preservation Order), which meant that approval had to be sought from the local council before the tree could be removed.

A TPO, which is legally binding under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Town and Country Planning (Trees) Regulations 1999, serves to protect a tree from intentional damage; therefore, a tree subject to a TPO cannot be felled, topped, lopped or uprooted unless explicit consent is provided by the local council’s planning department.

The representative said: “My inspection also revealed that a fungus was present that could alter the structural integrity of the trunk. The council tree officer agreed with my recommendations and subsequently gave me approval to remove the tree”. Although not always indicative of a tree’s imminent demise, fungal growth at the base of the trunk usually suggests the presence of wood decay, which can cause the tree to become unsafe.

Unfortunately, the colossal Elm reached 70 feet into the sky, measured 2 feet in diameter at the trunk and weighed approximately 6 tonnes. To make matters worse, the tree’s expansive branches lay just 6 inches from the boundary wall and overhung a glass conservatory. Having realised the complexity of the task at hand, the tree surgeon quipped: “I like a challenge, so I decided the safest and most efficient method to remove the tree was over the mews house with a crane”.

Carrying out the work on a Saturday in order to minimize the disruption to local businesses, the five-member team worked alongside two crane operators to ensure the tree’s safe removal. The company representative explained: “We were removing 2-tonne sections at a time over the mews houses and the job couldn’t have gone any smoother.

“I believe that this is the first time a tree has been lifted over a house in Brighton before”. Thanks to the expertise and professionalism of the team at Trees Understood, the monumental task of removing the ancient Elm went without a hitch – and the glass conservatory survived intact.

For more information about this and the services Trees Understood can provide please contact Carlos Daly.

Telephone: 01273 699 620, Mobile: 07789 634 045, Email: info@treesunderstood.co.uk, Tree Surgeons Brighton,Tree Surgeons Sussex
http://www.treesunderstood.co.uk/

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