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Service
Preliminary Tree Assessment
What is on the site, which trees are protected, and where the root zones will sit, before an architect has drawn a line. Of the reports I write this is the one that saves people the most money.
Fixed quote within one business day · agreed in writing before any work starts
Why this one first
The expensive mistake is finding out about the trees after the design is fixed. By that point you are choosing between redesigning, arguing for an encroachment you were never going to get, or losing the tree and wearing a replacement planting obligation on a site with nowhere to put it.
A preliminary assessment takes a few hours and tells you which of those three you are looking at.
What you get
- Every tree on and adjoining the site identified, measured and photographed
- Indicative Notional Root Zone and Structural Root Zone for each, so you can see the developable envelope
- Which trees are protected, and by what: overlay, local law, Clause 52.37, or nothing at all
- An honest read on which trees are realistically retainable and which are not
- What further reports the permit path will require, and what those will cost
Buying the site rather than building on it?
Same assessment, different question. Before you exchange, find out whether the yield you have modelled survives contact with the trees. I have seen feasibility collapse on a single boundary tree that nobody looked at.
It carries across
The measurements and photographs from a preliminary assessment feed straight into an impact assessment or a Clause 52.37 report later. You are not paying twice for the same site visit.
Common questions
Is a preliminary assessment enough for a planning application?
No. It is a design and feasibility tool. Where a planning permit is required you will need an impact assessment. The preliminary work feeds straight into that.
Can you do it before I own the site?
Yes, with the owner's or agent's permission for access. A great deal of it can also be done from the street and the title plan if access is not available.
What if there are no trees worth worrying about?
Then I will tell you that in writing, which is itself worth having on file, and the fee stops there.
Other services
Tree Removal Report
ResidentialArboricultural Impact Assessment
DevelopmentClause 52.37 Canopy Tree Report
Residential · PlanningTree Protection Management Plan
DevelopmentRoot & Infrastructure Investigation
InvestigationArboricultural Supervision
On siteConstruction Monitoring
On siteTree Risk Assessment
TRAQ qualifiedTree Protection Zone Advice
Written adviceSend me the plans and I will send you a number.
A fixed fee in writing within one business day, with the scope set out so you know what is included. If it turns out you do not need this report, I will tell you that instead.