An arboricultural method statement is a document that sets out, step by step, how construction or engineering work will be carried out near trees without harming them. Where a BS5837 tree survey records what is growing on a site, and an arboricultural impact assessment weighs what a proposed design would do to it, the method statement deals with the doing: the order in which operations happen, the protective fencing that keeps machinery and materials away from roots, the ground protection used where access near trees cannot be avoided, and who checks that all of it is actually followed. Councils in Lancashire and across the North West often require one as a planning condition on developments near retained trees, and work should not usually begin until it has been approved.
What the method statement covers
The core of the document is sequencing. Much of the harm done to trees on construction sites is not deliberate felling. It comes from things happening in the wrong order: soil compacted by tracked plant before the fencing went up, trenches cut through rooting areas because the service run was never planned around them, or materials stacked under a canopy for weeks. A good method statement removes that risk by fixing the order of works in writing before anyone arrives on site.
A typical statement will set out:
- the sequence of operations, from fencing installation through demolition, ground works and construction to landscaping;
- the specification and exact position of protective barrier fencing, and the point at which it may come down;
- ground protection, such as load-spreading mats or temporary surfacing, where vehicles or foot traffic must pass close to trees;
- special construction methods where the design comes near rooting areas, for example no-dig surfacing or hand excavation;
- routes for services and drainage, planned to avoid roots rather than cut through them;
- supervision and monitoring arrangements, including who inspects the protection and when.
The written statement is normally accompanied by a tree protection plan, a scaled drawing showing the retained trees, their root protection areas and the fencing line, so that what the text describes can be marked out on the ground.
When a council will ask for one
The usual trigger is a planning condition. Where permission is granted for development near retained trees, the decision notice will often require an arboricultural method statement to be submitted and approved in writing before work starts. The council’s tree officer reviews it, and the condition is then discharged in the usual way. If you have a decision notice in front of you, read the conditions carefully: the wording usually says what the statement must address and at what stage it is needed.
Councils can also ask for one at application stage, particularly where the layout brings foundations, drives or services close to trees the authority wants kept. Separately, a tree on or beside the site may be protected in its own right by a tree preservation order or a conservation area. Our guide to whether a tree is protected explains how to check; the council’s registers are the definitive record.
How it builds on the BS5837 survey
A method statement cannot be written in isolation. It depends on the data collected in a BS5837 tree survey: which trees are present, their condition and quality categories, and the size of each root protection area. Those measurements decide where the fencing goes, which parts of the site need ground protection and where special construction methods are justified. If the survey is missing or out of date, the method statement has nothing sound to stand on, and a tree officer will usually notice quickly.
It is also distinct from the arboricultural impact assessment, which we cover in a separate post. The impact assessment weighs the effect of the proposed design on the trees, and is chiefly a tool for deciding whether the scheme is acceptable. The method statement assumes the scheme is going ahead and answers a narrower, more practical question: how the work will be done so that the retained trees come through it in good order. On many projects the two are produced together, but they do different jobs.
Supervision: the part that makes it real
Fencing and sequencing only protect trees if someone checks them. A well-written method statement therefore says who supervises what. That may include an arboriculturist attending at key stages, for example when excavation takes place inside a root protection area, inspection visits at agreed intervals, and written records the council can ask to see. It should also make clear that the protective fencing is not to be moved or breached without agreement. Settling these responsibilities in advance is far easier than arguing about them once machinery is on site.
Getting one prepared
Our surveyors prepare arboricultural method statements across Preston, Lancashire and the North West, usually alongside the tree survey and tree protection plan the council will expect to see with them. The documents stand alone: nothing in them depends on Great Oaks carrying out any tree work, and you are free to take them to any contractor or submit them straight to the council. We quote within one working day, the price we quote is the price you pay, survey visits are booked within days, and the report follows days after the visit, not weeks.
If you are not sure whether your permission needs a method statement, or what else the council wants before you can start, use the free scope check form on our tree surveys page or call 01772 369694. We will tell you what you need, and just as readily what you do not.
