Tree surveys › Tree risk assessment

For owners with a duty of care

Tree risk assessments and safety inspections

Whoever owns land owes a duty of care to keep its trees reasonably safe, and a written record is the practical way to show that duty is being met. We inspect your trees, record their species, condition and any defects, and leave you a written record with clear, risk-based recommendations, produced by our own qualified team.

• ARB Approved Contractor AC2637
• Constructionline Gold
• £1m professional indemnity
• Quotes within one working day

When you need one

• Trees standing over gardens, drives, car parks or footpaths where people and property pass beneath
• Schools, churches, landlords and businesses that need a written record of their trees' condition
• Estates and larger sites that want a managed programme of tree surveys rather than one-off visits
• A tree that has changed: dead wood, fungus at the base, lifted ground or a lean that was not there before

What the assessment includes

How it works

1. Tell us about the site. Address, roughly how many trees, and anything that worries you. We quote within one working day.
2. We inspect the trees. Our surveyors are local, so visits happen within days, not weeks.
3. Your written record lands. Findings, prioritised recommendations and a reinspection interval, in a written form you can file and produce whenever it is asked for.

Questions we are asked about tree risk assessments

How often should my trees be inspected?

Often enough to be proportionate to the risk: the size and condition of the trees and who passes beneath them. Part of our report is a recommended reinspection interval for your site, so you are never guessing.

Am I liable for my trees?

A tree belongs to the land its trunk stands on, and landowners owe a duty of care to keep their trees reasonably safe. A written inspection record is the practical evidence that you have taken that duty seriously.

Will an inspection prevent storm damage?

It reduces the risk, it cannot eliminate it. An inspection finds defects such as dead wood, decay and structural weakness so they can be dealt with, but a sound tree can still fail in extreme weather. What the record shows is that you acted reasonably.

What happens if the assessment recommends work?

The report stands on its own and you are free to take it to any contractor. If you would rather one firm handled both, we can carry out the work as an ARB Approved Contractor, but the recommendations never depend on that.

What if one of my trees is protected?

TPO trees need council consent before work, conservation area works need six weeks written notice, and penalties for unauthorised works can include unlimited fines, so check before acting on any recommendation. Our free protected tree checker gives you an indicative answer in seconds; the council register is definitive.

Related: all tree surveys and reports · is my tree protected? · tree surveys for subsidence · mortgage tree reports