BS 5837:2012 Surveys for Trees on or near Construction Sites
What is BS 5837?
What is BS 5837?
What is BS 5837?
"BS 5837:2012 Trees in Relation to Design, Demolition and Construction – Recommendations." is the British Standard that guides how trees should be protected during construction or demolition works. In order to get planning permission for your works you may need a tree survey to state how the trees will be affected by the project. This survey is often called a BS5837 Survey.
Do I need one?
What is BS 5837?
What is BS 5837?
If you are making a planning application for your site and there are trees on or nearby (neighbouring trees can be included) then you probably will require a Tree Survey in order to get the final go ahead for your project. If in doubt feel free to get in contact with us and we can discuss the matter before you make a decision.
At what stage should the tree survey be done?
At what stage should the tree survey be done?
At what stage should the tree survey be done?
Ideally as early as possible. If the trees are considered in the design phase of a development then costly revisions and delays can be avoided. It is quite common for entire projects to be held up because the trees were considered too late. That being said it is never too late to bring us into your project. This may even be to discharge a condition of planning approval.
We can provide BS 5837 Surveys all over the South West of the UK, including Somerset, Bristol & Bath, South Gloucester and South Wales.
What is included in it?
At what stage should the tree survey be done?
At what stage should the tree survey be done?
A BS 5837 report is broken down into several parts.
- The initial survey - This is where we come to the site, measure the trees and assign them a category based on their quality and remaining contribution to the site. This category gives the Local Planning Authority (LPA) an idea of what the trees on the site are like.
- This is then put into an Arboricultural Impact Assessment (AIA) which looks at how the proposed plan will impact the trees and what constraints the trees pose to the plan.
- These constraints are then mapped onto a Tree Constraints Plan (TCP) which shows the crown sizes and the rooting area of the tree. This rooting area is known as the Root Protection Area (RPA)
- A Tree Protection Plan (TPP) is drawn up which maps out what measures need to be put in place to protect the retained trees during the construction and demolition works.
- These documents are accompanied by an Arboricultural Method Statement (AMS) which is a method statement that explains to the contractors how to ensure the trees are not damaged or harmed during the works.