Trees

Rossendale Borough Council carries out programmed safety inspections for trees on our land within its duty of care or for which it is otherwise responsible. Programmed safety inspections are carried out on a risk-based frequency and may occur every 6 months up to every 5 years. Trees in remote and very low-occupancy woodland with minimal public access and no notable targets are not normally subject to routine inspection.

The Council will respond to reports of dangerous trees on Council-controlled land and will assess the tree and the risk of harm it imposes.

Emergency Circumstances

In emergency circumstances we aim to inspect Council trees within 24 hours of being notified. Emergency circumstances include;

• Tree is snapped or blown over
• Tree uprooted and held up by another tree or building
• A large branch has broken off or is hanging off the tree
• Tree or branch is blocking the road or footpath
• Tree or branch is blocking access to property
• Tree has fallen onto a house or car

Non emergency Circumstances

In non-emergency situations, we will normally carry out an inspection on a Council tree within ten working days of notification. These situations include;

• Tree is dead
• Tree is dying - few leaves in summer or dieback in the crown
• Tree has fallen but is safe
• Bark is loose and falling off
• Mushrooms or fungi growing on or near the tree
• Old splits and cracks in the trunk or large branches
• Small branches falling from the tree in calm weather

The response time frames are subject to working patterns, weather conditions, emergency workload and the need to priorities urgent safety cases.

Tree risks are assessed using the Quantified Tree Risk Assessment (QTRA) method. The results are used to help determine reinspection intervals, priority categories and programmes of work.