Tree Maintenance
All tree care and maintenance will be specified and carried out in accordance with the current British Standards - BS 3998:2010 – Recommendations for Tree Work or any superseding standard together with current arboricultural good practice.
Rossendale Borough Council uses the Quantitative Tree Risk Assessment (QTRA) method to support inspection planning and prioritisation of tree works. Tree works are prioritised according to the Council’s adopted risk thresholds as shown below. Trees that fall below actionable thresholds will not normally receive works unless there is another clear management justification.
| Adopted Risk Thresholds Quick Links |
|---|
| 1. Emergency |
| 2. Urgent |
| 3. Essential |
| 4. Desirable |
Emergency
|
Risk of harm occurring in the following 12 months |
1/100 |
|
Common reasons - subject to desktop review, inspection and risk assessment |
Tree snapped, uprooted or blown over / Tree or branch hanging or held up by another tree or building / Tree or branch blocking access to a property, footpath or highway / Tree fallen on a building or car |
|
Target inspection response time - subject to working patterns, weather conditions, workload |
24 Hours |
|
Target works completion time - subject to working patterns, weather conditions, environmental laws, workload prioritisation |
7 Days |
Urgent
|
Risk of harm occurring in the following 12 months |
1/100 - 1/1K |
|
Common reasons - subject to desktop review, inspection and risk assessment |
Tree snapped, uprooted or blown over / Tree or branch hanging or held up by another tree or building / Tree or branch blocking access to a property, footpath or highway / Tree fallen on a building or car |
|
Target inspection response time - subject to working patterns, weather conditions, workload |
24 Hours |
|
Target works completion time - subject to working patterns, weather conditions, environmental laws, workload prioritisation. |
28 days |
Essential
|
Risk of harm occurring in the following 12 months |
1/1K-1/10K |
|
Common reasons - subject to desktop review, inspection and risk assessment |
Tree snapped, uprooted or blown over / Tree or branch hanging or held up by another tree or building / Tree or branch blocking access to a property or along a footpath or highway / Tree fallen on a building or car / Branches touching buildings etc / Tree or large branches dead or dying / Bark is loose or falling off (species dependent) / Mushrooms or fungi growing on or near the tree / Older splits or cracks in the trunk or branches / Driver or pedestrian sight lines / Trip hazards / Subsidence |
|
Target inspection response time - subject to working patterns, weather conditions, workload |
10 Days |
|
Target works completion time - subject to working patterns, weather conditions, environmental laws, workload prioritisation |
6 Months |
Desirable
|
Risk of harm occurring in the following 12 months |
1/10K-1/100k |
|
Common reasons - subject to desktop review, inspection and risk assessment |
Improve tree safety or health / Improve habitat health / Improve sight lines to a feature or aesthetics of a significant feature |
|
Target inspection response time - subject to working patterns, weather conditions, workload |
10 Days |
|
Target works completion time - subject to working patterns, weather conditions, environmental laws, workload prioritisation |
24 Months |