Duty of Care

In the light of several high profile test cases where injured parties have successfully claimed damages against landowners who have not carried through their “Duty of Care” in relation to trees, Nicholsons has developed a new and more robust method of survey and reporting.

The law has not changed but the requirements of such a survey have been tightened up through comments made by judges that have set precedence under common law.

Nicholsons is now able to offer a service to assist landowners in their “Duty of Care” which is better tailored to the individual requirements of the client.

Our surveyors are all qualified to Lantra Level 2 professional tree inspector standard. Trees are surveyed on a negative reporting basis unless specified otherwise, and in high-use public areas only trees that need work or comment are inserted into the report framework.

Trees are precisely registered on digitally generated plans, as well as being marked physically to enable easy identification in the future. The scope of the survey is also plotted on accompanying maps to show what has been surveyed to avoid any doubt about which trees have been inspected.

urther investigation with specialist equipment is available, if required, on those trees where visual tree inspection alone is inconclusive. If you have any concerns or questions regarding this important service please do not hesitate to contact the office to discuss this with Tim Shardlow.