Agenda item

[To consider a presentation on the expanded Arboriculture Tree Inspection Programme]. 

The Head of Environmental Services introduced the presentation with a summary (a copy of the presentation is attached to the signed minutes). The Developmental Place Based and Environmental Manager informed the panel that their team were about 70 percent through their yearly check on the tree population, however, they were always discovering new trees. 6 trees required urgent work, 260 have defects. The Arbor Services Lead stated that their budget plan was based off defect led inspections and these were the priority. He set out what the service covered and what it did not cover. The Arbor Services Lead then informed the panel that the arboriculture services team had been re-designed with new posts and new employees with additional roles yet to be recruited. He then showed the Panel a photograph of the tree defect logging system, which allowed the Council to monitor trees. Through this monitoring system they had a priority chart based off Health and Safety regulations, which enables them to rank trees in need of work in order of those posing the most danger to the public. Councillors could access the tree map to enable them to handle enquiries from residents; the tree map provided them with all the known historic information on local trees.

The Developmental Place Based and Environmental Manager explained that since the launch of CEU, enquiries had been unprecedented in number. This has meant they had to try engage with residents to explain what they could and could not do to try reduce the number of enquiries they received which they were not able to resolve.

The Arbor Services Lead then took the Panel through new regulations regarding the duty to consult the public in the felling of trees. The Head of Environmental Services set out future plans, which included a tree Risk-Management Plan, data storage, a proactive tree maintenance regime and more. The

Cabinet Member for City Environment and Climate Change asked it be recorded he personally thanked the team, both past and present for their hard work in this area. He said recruitment was based upon hiring skilled people with the specialist expertise in their field. The Cabinet Member for City Environment and Climate Change was pleased with the service, its addition of data based work, increased transparency and objectivity in its work. He felt the work being done was evidence that the decision to increase investment into the department was correct.

A Panel member praised the work that had been done and expressed his views on the importance of the service to the city. He complimented the interactive data and stated it would help Councillors in their role.

A Councillor praised the new database but asked whether a residents perspective had been or could be taken into consideration more, in reference to trees blocking light into rooms, solar panels and so on. The Councillor also shared the suggestion that the Council could contact British Telecom to trim the trees in situations where trees block or inhibit residents internet signals.

The Cabinet Member for City Environment and Climate Changereplied that there are limits to the budget and that resident requests based upon loss of light or aesthetic purposes is not quantifiable, therefore, it would open up the system to being used by anyone and would not be affordable. The Council’s job was to maintain and manage risk, that is what their service was designed to do. He said that British Telecom when contacted for things they were responsible for, such as trees on phone lines, would come out and perform the work.

A Councillor asked what Proactive Maintenance was. The Councillor also enquired who they are supposed to contact about issues such as tree roots lifting foot paths.

The Arbor Services Lead explained that it was in fact Proactive Management, which was tree management after inspections. He said that the team were currently looking at different options to tackle the issue of tree roots damaging footpaths.

A Councillor raised residents with disabilities and asked how the Council responded to tree maintenance in those events. He also asked how the Council ensured trees being handled by British Telecom were being maintained within the Councils own law and policies, as a private company in his view, was not covered by the same set of laws.

The Arbor Services Lead replied that they judge cases regarding disability and accessibility on a case-by-case basis. He added that all companies that carry out work are advised by the Council to abide by the laws and do the work in line with the standards set out in regulations. The Director of Resident Services explained that the scale of the job was huge, with 300,000 confirmed trees and an estimate that this would eventually grow to just over half a million trees. He explained that they legally had to check each tree every 2 years.

A Councillor stated that they currently couldn’t see on the database when works had been carried out on a tree and asked if this would become a feature. He also added if policy considerations could be extended to include a threshold in regard to nuisance caused by a tree, citing an example of where a tree was so overgrown a pensioner had no house light and had to have downstairs lights on in the day with the curtains open.

The Developmental Place Based and Environmental Manager said that the tree database was extremely new and was still being filled in, with historic paper information also in the process of being transferred to digital. Once the 2 year cycle of checks were complete, every tree would have all information on it available and this would include inspections and repairs, as well as resident enquiries.

The Vice Chair stated that the Arbor team had got 8 of the 11 job vacancies filled in and asked when they would get to the 11. The Councillor also asked about how tree planting was considered by the team.

The Arbor Services Lead informed the Panel that they were currently interviewing for the roles, and some were already filled but they were processing the successful applicant. He then explained that all future tree planning would be subject to a new tree planting strategy which would be published in the future.