Tree Survey for Architects
Our compliant BS5837 development site tree surveys, plans, and reports offer a thorough assessment for submission with any planning application. We support teams in achieving successful schemes, including architects, developers, and planners.
We recognise that every site is unique and that there are rarely one-size-fits-all solutions. We work collaboratively with our clients to provide appropriate, effective, and cost-efficient solutions tailored to their specific needs.
Trees are a material consideration, not an obstacle. Our job is to establish the arboricultural position accurately and early enough that the scheme can be designed around it — not to find reasons a development cannot proceed.
Tree Surveys for Developers and Planners
When it comes to planning applications involving trees, our services are closely aligned with the RIBA stages. This seamless integration allows us to work effectively with your design team or architect.
Trees are an important factor in the UK planning system and require thorough evaluation during the planning application process. Our services cater to our clients' needs, ensuring a well-informed process backed by extensive experience in both public and private sectors.
We recognise the importance of balancing environmental sustainability with the economic feasibility of development, and we take pride in providing commercially viable arboricultural advice that meets planning policy demands — contributing positively to the success of planning and development projects.
The Four Key Phases
Why the Survey Is Required
A BS5837 tree survey is necessary because local planning authorities are legally obliged to assess the impact of planning applications on trees. The standard sets out the process for considering trees in planning and details the information to be collected. Applications are rarely validated without it.
An arboricultural impact assessment is required by the authority to evaluate how the proposed design has considered the impact on trees. It is integral to planning policy on green infrastructure and influences the authority's decision. It is a critical component of the design phase, ensuring impacts are avoided or minimised and supporting a strong planning case under national and local policy.
Under the revised BS5837 currently in draft, the impact assessment is proposed to become the Arboricultural Impact Report. We already produce to the draft methodology.
BS 5837 Combined Packages for Planning & Development
Urban Tree Management provides end-to-end BS5837 support for architects, developers, and planning agents. These packages streamline the planning and construction process, offering predictable pricing, defensible reporting, and a single point of accountability.
Proposal‑Ready Packages
Planning‑Ready Package
This package provides all arboricultural documentation required for a planning submission, including the BS 5837 Tree Survey, Constraints & Opportunities Report, and Arboricultural Impact Assessment. It ensures the proposed layout is informed, impacts are justified, and the submission is fully compliant with BS 5837:2012.
Ideal For
- Planning submissions
- Architects needing early clarity
- Developers wanting predictable planning costs
Full Lifecycle Package
This package supports the project from planning through to construction. It includes all planning‑stage documents plus a detailed Arboricultural Method Statement and Tree Protection Plan. These documents provide contractors with clear, enforceable instructions and satisfy typical planning conditions.
Ideal For
- Projects progressing from planning to construction
- Contractors needing clear, enforceable instructions
- Clients wanting continuity from one consultant
Premium Developer Package
Our most comprehensive package, designed for complex or high‑profile developments. It includes all planning and construction‑phase documents, key‑stage arboricultural supervision, monitoring reports, and design workshops. This package provides continuous support, reduces redesign costs, and ensures full compliance throughout the project lifecycle.
Ideal For
- Medium–large developers
- Complex or high‑value sites
- Projects with sensitive trees or political scrutiny
CAD & Georeferenced Mapping
All tree survey data is delivered as georeferenced CAD — tree positions, crown spreads, and root protection areas plotted to Ordnance Survey National Grid coordinates and supplied in DWG and DXF format, ready to drop straight into your design team's drawing set.
Where you provide a CAD base file we work directly from it at no additional cost. Plans are issued as PDF as standard, with CAD on request.
Compensation Tree Planting
Compensation planting comes into play when existing trees need to be removed for development and the local authority requires replacement. Since policies and requirements differ between authorities, our knowledge of current systems allows us to determine the right number, size, and timing for replacement trees.
We use tree replacement systems to calculate quantities and valuation systems such as CAVAT — Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees — to assign financial value, ensuring fair outcomes. Our approach models the gradual replacement of lost tree value, supports practical agreements for mitigation planting, and is backed by expert advice and design.
Tree Surveyors Who Can Support Your Design and Planning Work
Architects and planning consultants who engage an arboricultural consultant at the earliest stage of a project consistently achieve better planning outcomes. Urban Tree Management's experience of working within multidisciplinary design teams across the North West means we deliver advice that is technically robust, commercially aware, and genuinely useful from day one.
Get in contact with our highly experienced and personable team of arboricultural consultants today, to discuss your requirements and to obtain your zero obligation quotation.
