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.
Tree Cover Across Wolverhampton
A traditionally industrial location, Wolverhampton is unsurprisingly lacking in rural locations. It was granted city status in January 2001 after five unsuccessful applications dating back to 1953. According to the Arboricultural Association, the current average tree canopy cover across the country stands at 16%. However, the minimal amount of woodland in Wolverhampton sees an underperforming tree canopy cover of just 10%.
Not only is there a mere 247 hectares of woodland across the 6,944-hectare land area of Wolverhampton – equating to a share of 3.9% – statistics indicate that the tree canopy cover has depleted. The City of Wolverhampton Council manages an estimated 400,000 to 450,000 trees and 120 local parks, playgrounds and open spaces. As well as a determination to retain and protect existing trees, the local council unveiled a Tree and Woodland Strategy that shows a drive to plant new trees in the city over a ten-year period between 2019 and 2029.
Protections regarding trees are positive for the local environment in Wolverhampton. Developers planning development works in the city, however, are likely to see protected trees as a stumbling block. As a result, the most suitable solution would be to contact an arboricultural consultancy such as ours for a tree survey on the development site.
Precautions Involving Trees
All over the country, tree protections often involve two primary features – tree preservation orders (TPOs) for individual trees and conservation areas for sets of trees within a chosen location. The same applies to Wolverhampton, with the City of Wolverhampton Council possessing a section of their website dedicated to the use of a tree preservation order (TPO) or conservation area in relation to trees.
The local council are in control of tree protections including TPOs and listed conservation areas, and they require prior consent before any proposed development works that could impact protected trees is carried out. It may be difficult to identify trees that are protected, but with the help of an arboriculturist, any issues involving trees can be highlighted and eliminated.
Expert Tree Analysis
An arboricultural assessment will often start with a BS5837 tree survey – a baseline inspection that allows an arboricultural consultant to analyse every tree based on value and condition before giving them a grading that will decide the fate of each tree. A mitigation hierarchy will be used, with the retention of trees standing as the top priority outcome.
If, however, trees that are valuable are acting as an unavoidable obstruction to the development or pose a risk to health and safety, the arboricultural surveyor will suggest moving them somewhere else, either inside or outside of the development site. As a last resort, certain trees will be destroyed and compensated for with the planting of new trees, but this will only happen if they aren’t worth saving.
After the tree inspection, the arboriculturist will develop a tree survey report. Within the tree report, there will be details about the survey process, outcomes from the grading system and potential recommendations for other arboricultural assessments needed on the site. Based on the data in the tree survey report, the planning officer from the local planning authority will see it as concrete evidence that a licensed arboriculturist has surveyed the site and that a planning application can be granted.
Tree Consultants in the Area
A strict policy we stick to involves the high expectations we insist upon in our arboricultural consultants. Each arboricultural surveyor in our team has the necessary qualifications and licensing alongside key personal skills to guarantee the best possible service to our private and professional clients. As for coverage, we cater to developers in Wolverhampton and all other parts of the UK upon request.
Before we can get started, we will need details about your site and project so we can then provide you with a free quote. To do this, contact us by filling out our quick quote form or over the phone. If you are happy with the quote, return it back to us and we can work with you to choose a suitable date to attend your site for an assessment and get your project through planning.