What is the Council’s view of the risk of trees falling in high winds?
Fears of trees falling have become more widespread since the storms of 1987 and 1990. Whilst the Council is sympathetic to public concern on this issue and would not obstruct or delay any work required for safety reasons, maintenance of trees remains the responsibility of owners. Evidence, such as a report from an expert detailing potential or actual danger, may be required to support an application to remove a tree or carry out major surgery on safety grounds, where the risk is not apparent from a simple ground-level inspection. No tree will be pronounced as safe by an expert but this is not sufficient cause to consider it dangerous. Similarly, the Council will not normally agree to removal simply because a tree is tall or moves with the wind unless other factors or serious defects in the tree are evident either from visual inspection or, in case of doubt or disagreement, a detailed expert report. The cost of and responsibility for arranging any such inspection would normally be the r
