Moonshine Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 (edited) I have just learnt about root protection zones, and this may be an headache in relation to my site, but not a show stopper. I may have to change layouts around. The tree in question is not mine and so can't do anything about it. Does any one have any experience of these and does it mean you can't do anything in these zones, or can you do anything to a certain depth. Are they in force for all trees or just ones with TPO? Edited November 3, 2018 by Moonshine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Ok .... RPZ is only required where it has been deemed as required on a tree within a tree survey to BS5837:2012 or the tree is within either a conservation area or has a specific or site wide TPO. All construction work “should” consider trees however a lot doesn’t. A ground level tree survey by a decent tree surgeon shouldn’t be much more than £300-400 at best, and you can do them yourself if you can identify a good tree from a bad one ..! Grey area with all trees is their “amenity value” and whether they do add anything to the landscape especially in an urban environment. I’ve come across a couple of councils recently where the tree officer has retired - usually an arborist by trade - and has been replaced with a graduate with a degree in environmental science ... sadly some of these are just past page 4 on the Ladybird Book of Trees and they don’t have a clue but are very influential all the same ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 When I applied for planning permission I was told which areas were RPZ and told to get a survey, how much ????, I simply stated I would fence around the areas pointed out at 1 meter high so no building work, vehicles or building materials could impact on the roots, this accepted.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshine Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share Posted November 3, 2018 Umm, looking at it I may want to put some part of a drive way / parking space in the Rpz, is this acceptable? Assuming the ground isn't dug out (much) and is a permable surface for drainage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambs Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 (edited) Quote 2 hours ago, Moonshine said: I have just learnt about root protection zones, and this may be an headache in relation to my site, but not a show stopper. I may have to change layouts around. The tree in question is not mine and so can't do anything about it. Does any one have any experience of these and does it mean you can't do anything in these zones, or can you do anything to a certain depth. Are they in force for all trees or just ones with TPO? We’re building in a conservation area and trees are protected. The tree officer said : “The proposed site plan indicates the rpa incursion of 10% of a single tree. This is acceptable.” So you can encroach into the RPA. The attached is extracted from our application drawings. Edited November 3, 2018 by Cambs Correct typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshine Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share Posted November 3, 2018 Oh, any idea where the 10% is from? Any guidance on the subject? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexphd1 Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 Hi. We have trees with a TPO on them, as stated above we fenced them of with heras fence to give them a bit of protection. We also had to lay a no dig drive way through the trees which is a plastic webbing then filled with stones. It's pretty strong we have had lorries and a 36m concrete boom pump. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambs Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 22 minutes ago, Moonshine said: Oh, any idea where the 10% is from? Any guidance on the subject? From the Woodland Trust’s website: How is a root protection area calculated? The British Standard 5837, RPA is calculated by multiplying the diameter of the tree at breast height in meters by 12 but is capped as an area with a radius of 15m. .... and then I guess my designer just calculated the area of the garage that was encroaching into the RPA and divided it by the area of the RPA to get to his 10%. You can find a copy of the relevant BS online in some places - it costs £224 to buy from BSI or just Google “Crawley BS5837” and you can see it for £0 ?. Have a look through that to see what is relevant for what you are trying to do but, for example, section 7.4.2.3 states “New permanent hard surfacing should not exceed 20% of any existing unsurfaced ground within the RPA.” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 I think the NHBC also have a guide called something like Building near Trees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 @Moonshine any chance you can post your plans and can try and advise. If its just driveway then using no-dig driveway crates are fine - problem is normally services and ensuring that there are no issues with drains going through the area. What is the tree and the soil type ..? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randomiser Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 The site we are in the process of buying has a number of trees around it, a couple with TPOs but others without TPOs. As part of the application a detailed arboricultural methods statement was submitted. In this report the arborculturalist said that no distinction was made between trees with TPOs and those without as detailed planning consent overrides any TPO protection. The planning consent says the consent must be implemented consistent with the arboricultural methods statement. So if this is correct, then once a consent is in place for a site whether a tree has a TPO or not seems irrelevant for the purpose of the build. What is not clear to me is whether that changes the status of the trees more generally. Before the consent, as the site is not in a conservation area, I peesume the owner could just have taken down many of the trees. So what happens now if one of the trees is taken down and the consent is then only implemented a year later, has a planning condition been breached? What if a tree is taken down and then the consent is not implemented, has an offence been committed? How on earth that works when the tree is not on your land would be interesting to understand. The foundations for the approved house on our proposed site encroach on one of the RPAs but have been approved on the basis that this section will have to be 'no dig' / constructed under arborcultural supervision. So you can build in an RPA, but I think it is a complex area that you will need expert input / justification for. Randomiser. So in short it seems a very Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted November 6, 2018 Share Posted November 6, 2018 No TPO and no Conservation Area = remove at will.... Even if there is a methods statement for the site, you can still take any tree out as long as the above conditions are true. And the arborist is correct as the planning permission allows work on a tree with TPO - that is the permission you need to gain for any TPO tree work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now