Our tree fencing will keep the trees on your site safe, and keep you compliant with important tree protection standards.
If you’re planning construction or demolition work in the proximity of trees, you will need to comply with British Standard BS 5837. This complex regulation sets out how trees must be protected on site. Spanning 40+ pages, it provides detailed instructions for how to identify trees needing protection, and how to ensure that measures are put in place to protect them. At Climbers Way Tree Care, we have a deep understanding of these requirements, and can take care of everything including consultancy, tree protection plans, and BS 5837 compliant tree fencing.
What Are Your Obligations Under BS 5837?
BS 5837 asks that several steps should be taken to ensure the protection of trees on your site. Critically, it states that all trees should be behind suitable tree protection fencing before any machinery or materials are brought onto site. BS 5837 even specifies the type of fencing that should be used, and the calculations that should be used to identify the appropriate placement.
Tree protection is about more than just fencing though, and BS 5837 also sets out requirements for how the soil, tree roots, and tree branches should also be protected during construction and demolition works.
To be compliant with BS 5837, you will need to gather a range of information, including:
- Tree Survey
- Topographical Survey
- Soil Assessment
- Arboricultural Impact Assessment
This information will help create a tree protection plan. This plan should identify any pre-development and post-development tree works required, and crucially set out what tree protection fencing will be required under BS 5837.
What if You’re Not Compliant With BS 5837?
If you don’t put proper protective fencing for trees in place before starting your work, it could result in trees being unnecessarily damaged. This could lead to time-consuming and costly investigations by the Local Planning Authority (LPA), or even substantial fines if the trees are protected.
BS 5837 tree protections should avoid damage to all parts of the tree. Machinery on site can damage the branches, bark, and roots of a tree, or could disrupt the soil around the tree which can be just as damaging. As qualified arborists and tree surgeons, we can ensure that all parts of the tree are well protected, and that the soil is not disturbed or contaminated.
LPAs will understand if it’s not possible to have fencing at the ideal position around a tree. BS 5837 fencing requirements set out how fences should be placed according to the root protection area (RPA). This is the distance around a tree that should be protected to ensure good root and tree health during construction. If site access requirements mean that fencing can’t be erected around the entire RPA, ground protection can be used instead.
How We’ll Take Care of Your BS 5837 Tree Protection Needs
BS 5837 requires that you use qualified professionals to make the judgements about what tree protection should be used on your site. At Climbers Way Tree Care, we are highly experienced and confident with working on site. We provide tree protective fencing, consultancy services, and tree protection plans that will keep you compliant with BS 5837.
Our tree surgeons can take care of any pre-development work required such as pruning, and our arborists will be able to review the health of all trees on site before and after development. Most importantly, we have a range of BS 5837 compliant fencing options available for all site requirements and situations. We will identify the root protection areas and work with you to understand whether fencing or ground protection would be suitable for your site requirements.
We are also highly experienced in working with protected trees, which can cause significant delays to development if not dealt with properly and as early as possible. We regularly work with LPAs on protected tree applications, and could even submit the required applications on your behalf.
And, of course, all of our team are fully insured and qualified, giving you total peace of mind.
