Storm Season is Coming - Could Your Tree Cost You Dearly? - Showcasing Scotland’s lifestyle, artisan Brands, heritage & outdoor spaces

With autumn underway, and the sure knowlege that wet weather and gale force winds will undoubtedly follow at some stage soon, it might be a good time to have the trees on your property checked to ensure they are healthy.

Trees can come down on dark country back roads, and over village footpaths and buildings, with the potential to cause serious damage, collisions and kill anyone unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Living in a rural environment, most of us have come across large branches or fallen trees on the B roads of a stormy night.

Insurance companies paying out in the case of damage or injury certainly isn’t a given. If a large claim comes your way for damage, injury or even death due to a tree coming down, then you had best hope the tree on your property had not been diseased or in a state of neglect when it came down in the storm.

Tree care and management is normally the responsibility of the owner of the land upon

which they are situated. The landowner also has a duty of care to ensure a tree is

not likely cause damage or injury as a consequence of, for example, general decline,

disease or storm damage. It is therefore advisable to regularly inspect the condition of

trees (including for signs of dieback, general lack of vigour, fungal infection and structural

defects) and, where necessary, seek the advice of competent arboricultural consultant

or contractor.

www.stirling.gov.uk

Chris Calvey (aka The Tree Inspector) is one of a handful of ‘tree inspectors’ in Scotland who are professionally qualified to assess and survey trees for homeowners and landowners.

A professional tree Inspection can save you money, protect and enhance your trees, and safeguard you against legal action if things go wrong. Many accidents and fatalities that result in litigation would have been avoided if the trees in question had received an inspection. Your local tree surgeon is likely to be a highly skilled tree worker but few of them are qualified inspectors

Trees should be assessed, as a rough guide, every three years. However, in extreme weather conditions more frequent tree inspections are advisable. Existing tree owners should have inspections carried out if no inspection has been carried out as soon as possible. Prospective homeowners should have the trees on a property inspected before purchasing a new home as a tree problem could be expensive to solve or have damaged the building in some way. Sometimes Banks and mortgage companies require home buyers to get a survey before purchase. A tree inspection is particularly important if mature trees are in the grounds or near the buildings.

Chris, a fully qualified arborist and tree inspector, advises that an inspection will cost around £150 and provides the property or land owner with advice on any remedial action needed. Often this does not actually require tree removal (which can cost approx £500), and this is sometimes at odds with advice given by companies that make a living from, well, hands-on tree removal.

Chris serves the Stirlingshire, Loch Lomond & Trossachs area, and beyond. To chat with Chris, or book an inspection, find his details HERE.

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