Last updated: April 2024
Author: Rob Lambert
Editor at Arbtech, Rob is a content specialist who manages our ecology and arboriculture services copy to ensure it is accurate, up to date, and insightful for current and future clients.
Trees In and Around Warrington
A developed town in North West England, Warrington is widely known for multiple purposes, such as numerous avenues for business, employment, engineering, logistics, nuclear energy and software. It also has a generous share of rural locations, matching an ambition to keep the town relevant and in line with modern developments alongside an intention to retain ecological value.
From the total 4,489 hectares of land across Warrington, 2,700 hectares is populated by trees, meaning that just over 60% of the town is wooded. Additionally, the tree canopy cover extends over 14% of the land area, helped by 118 parks and playgrounds that are managed by Warrington Borough Council. The town itself falls within reach of initiatives intended to increase the quantity of trees in the North West, such as The Mersey Forest.
Sharing similarities to many towns across the country, Warrington shows integrity in retaining and increasing the number of natural assets to benefit the environment. That said, while it is a positive to Warrington and its inhabitants, it could pose an issue to any developers who find protected trees on their development site. Fortunately, however, we are here to help, with arboriculturists capable of conducting a tree survey on your site to ease any qualms from the perspective of the local authorities.
Protections Regarding Trees
An ongoing feature in cities, towns and villages all over the country, trees are usually protected using tree preservation orders (TPOs) and conservation areas. Each of these features share similarities such as the fact that they are managed by the local council and any trees affected by these protections require consent from the local authority before any development works are carried out.
The main difference between the two is that while a tree preservation order (TPO) will apply to individual trees, a conservation area will apply to all trees within the border of a set zone. Warrington Borough Council utilise both tree protections and has a dedicated page on its website to inform anyone dealing with trees in the town and the nearby area.
BS5837 Tree Survey and Assessment
On a set date, an arboricultural consultant will visit the site for what is known as a BS5837 tree survey. The purpose of a BS5837 tree survey is to analyse all trees present and brandish each with a grading based on condition and value. Then, using this grading, the arboricultural surveyor will cross-reference it with the predetermined mitigation hierarchy to work out the most suitable next steps for all trees.
In any situation, the top priority will be to retain as many valuable trees as possible. Alternatively, if trees are a health and safety concern or acting as an obstruction to the development that can’t be altered, the second best outcome will be to move trees to other locations inside or outside of the site. The last option will be to destroy trees and plant new trees as a form of compensation, but this will only be done if they are in poor condition and aren’t worth retaining or relocating.
Based on the outcomes of the assessment, the arboriculturist will create a tree survey report containing comprehensive information from the inspection. The planning department of the local council will regard this insight highly, meaning that the developer can pass on the tree report to the local planning authority to support the application for planning consent.
Advanced Tree Experts
One of Arbtech‘s strict policies involves only hiring arboricultural consultants who are sufficiently qualified and passionate about their job, meaning that they will put the work in to provide tree surveys to a high standard. We cover clients all over the country, both private and professional, including in Warrington, other sections of Cheshire, the broader North West and further parts of the country.
You can request a free quote from our team by calling us directly, filling out our quote form or considering our other communication options. From there, we can work with you to choose a desirable date for the assessment, and on the chosen date, one of our arboricultural surveyors will visit your site, inspect all trees present and offer the pivotal guidance needed to achieve planning permission.