Post-Construction Tree Surveys

The BS5837 survey records the trees before construction. The tree protection plan and method statement set out how they were to be kept safe through it. The post-construction survey establishes what actually happened.

Retained trees rarely show construction damage at the time it occurs. Root severance, compaction and level changes produce decline two or three years later, by which point the development is complete, the contractor has gone, and the trees have passed to whoever now owns or manages the site. The post-construction survey is the document that establishes the condition of the trees at handover — and, where damage has occurred, what caused it and what can be done.

Urban Tree Management provides post-construction tree surveys for developers, management companies, housing associations and local authorities across the North West, the Midlands and nationally.

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Site Handover and Adoption Inspections

When a completed development passes from the developer to a management company, a housing association or a local authority, the trees pass with it — and so does the duty of care.

The party taking on the site inherits whatever condition the trees are in, including damage that will not become visible for several years. Without a survey at handover, there is no record of that condition, no basis for holding the developer to account, and no defence when a tree declines and the question of cause arises.

A handover inspection records the condition of every retained tree at the point of transfer. Where damage is found, it is documented before the developer's liability has expired. Where the trees are sound, that is documented too, and the incoming owner takes them on with a clear baseline.

For an adopting authority or management company, this is the survey that separates inherited problems from problems that arise later under their own management.

Discharge of Planning Conditions and Final Sign-Off

Most tree conditions on a planning permission do not close when construction finishes. They close when the authority is satisfied that the retained trees were protected in accordance with the approved documents.

That is normally demonstrated with a completion report — the final element of the supervision record — confirming that the tree protection plan and method statement were implemented, recording the condition of the retained trees at completion, and identifying any departures from the approved measures and their consequences.

Where supervision has been in place throughout, the post-construction survey is the last visit in that sequence. Where it has not, it is the survey that establishes the position retrospectively so the condition can still be addressed.

An undischarged tree condition holds up building control sign-off, complicates a sale, and where the condition was pre-commencement, can leave the permission not lawfully implemented. The completion survey is the document that closes it.

Tree Damage Assessment After Construction

Construction damages trees in a small number of predictable ways, and each leaves evidence that can be read.

Root severance. Excavation for foundations, drainage and services within the root protection area cuts roots. The severed ends are visible in open trenches during construction and can sometimes be located afterwards by careful investigation at the trench line. The effect on the tree is proportional to the volume of rooting lost, and it shows as crown decline, dieback, and in the worst cases as instability.

Compaction. Plant movement, material storage and vehicle parking within the root protection area compress the soil, close the air spaces roots depend on, and reduce water infiltration. Compaction is invisible at the surface and its effect on the tree is slow, but it is measurable with a penetrometer and its pattern usually maps directly onto where the site compound, the crane pad or the deliveries were.

Bark wounding. Vehicle strikes, scaffold contact and careless handling wound the stem and major limbs. The wounds themselves are visible; the decay they admit develops over years.

Level changes. Raising ground levels within the root protection area buries the roots and suffocates them. Lowering levels cuts them. Both are common where landscaping is finished after the tree protection fencing has come down.

Spillage and contamination. Concrete washings, fuel, solvents and de-icing salt within the rooting area alter soil chemistry and damage roots directly. The evidence is usually still visible in the soil.

The assessment records each form of damage found, attributes it to a cause where the evidence supports that, and assesses its likely consequence for the tree.

Comparison Against the Baseline BS5837 Survey and Approved AMS/TPP

A post-construction survey on its own tells you the condition of the trees now. Compared against the documents that preceded it, it tells you what changed and whether the change was within what was approved.

The original BS5837 survey is the baseline — species, dimensions, condition and category recorded before construction began. The post-construction survey re-records the same trees and identifies where condition has deteriorated.

The tree protection plan shows where the fencing and ground protection should have been. The method statement sets out how works near the trees were to be carried out. The post-construction survey establishes, from the physical evidence, whether those measures were in the right place and whether the sequence was followed — a trench inside the RPA that the method statement said would be hand-dug, and was not; a compaction pattern that shows the compound sat where the fencing should have been.

Where the survey is being used to support a claim, a dispute or an enforcement matter, this comparison is the substance of it. Where it is being used for handover, it is what tells the incoming owner whether they are inheriting a problem.

Decompaction and Remediation Recommendations

Where damage is found, the survey sets out what can be done about it.

Compaction can be addressed by decompaction — air-spade or radial trenching to reopen the soil structure, mulching to restore organic matter and protect the surface, and in some cases soil amendment. The extent of the response is proportionate to the extent of compaction found and the value of the tree.

Root severance cannot be reversed, but its effect can be reduced. Crown management to bring the demand on the root system into line with what remains, irrigation through establishment years, and monitoring for stability where anchorage may be compromised.

Level changes can sometimes be corrected where the fill is recent and the roots beneath are still viable. Where they are not, the recommendation is honest about the tree's prospects.

Bark wounds are assessed for the decay risk they present and monitored accordingly.

Urban Tree Management is a consultancy only. We assess the damage, specify the remediation and monitor the outcome. We do not carry out the remedial works, and there is no commercial interest in the extent of works recommended.

Disputes and Evidence

Construction damage to trees frequently ends in a dispute, and the post-construction survey is usually the central piece of evidence in it.

Neighbouring landowners. Where a neighbour's tree has been damaged by construction on the adjoining site — roots cut at the boundary, a canopy pruned back without agreement — the survey establishes what was done, what the consequence is, and where the tree is protected, whether an offence has been committed.

Contractors. Where the developer has a claim against a contractor for breach of the approved method statement, the survey establishes what the method statement required, what the evidence shows was done, and what the damage is. Where the contractor disputes responsibility, the same survey is the basis of the defence.

Local planning authority enforcement. Where a protected tree has been damaged during construction, the authority may take enforcement action or prosecute. The survey establishes the extent and cause of the damage, and whether it falls within or outside what the permission allowed. The same survey serves the developer defending the allegation, the authority pursuing it, or a third party who reported it.

The survey is prepared on the evidence and reports what it finds. Where the damage is less than alleged, the survey says so. Where it is worse, it says that too.

What You Receive

A survey schedule re-recording every retained tree — species, dimensions, condition, category — in the same format as the baseline, so the two compare directly
A comparison table identifying every tree whose condition has changed since the baseline survey, and how
A damage assessment for each affected tree — the form of damage, the evidence, the probable cause, and the likely consequence
Compaction readings across the rooting areas where compaction is suspected
An assessment of compliance with the approved tree protection plan and method statement, identifying departures and their effect
Remediation and monitoring recommendations, proportionate to the damage found and the value of the tree
Photographs, geotagged and time-stamped, of every tree assessed and every instance of damage recorded
A written conclusion suitable for handover, condition discharge, or use in a dispute, stating plainly whether the retained trees were protected as approved

Frequently Asked Questions

When should a post-construction survey be carried out?

At practical completion, before the site is handed over and before the developer's liability period expires. Damage recorded at that point can be attributed and addressed. Damage found two years later, after the trees have declined, is considerably harder to attribute to anyone.
The trees look fine. Do we still need one?

Construction damage is usually invisible at completion. Root severance and compaction produce decline over two or three years. A survey at handover records the condition and the evidence while it can still be read — which is the point at which it protects whoever is taking the site on.
Can you assess trees where the original survey was by another consultant?

Yes. The baseline is whatever BS5837 survey was submitted with the application, and the approved protection plan and method statement are on the planning record. We compare against those documents regardless of who produced them.
What if there was no supervision during construction?

The post-construction survey establishes the position retrospectively from the physical evidence — the condition of the trees, the soil, the trench lines and the compaction pattern. It is less complete than a supervision record would have been, but it is usually enough to establish what happened and to support condition discharge or a claim.
Can the survey be used against a contractor?

It establishes what the approved method statement required, what the evidence shows was done, and what the resulting damage is. Whether that supports a claim is a matter for your solicitor, but the survey is prepared in a form suitable for that purpose.
Can you fix the damage?

We assess it and specify the remediation. We do not carry out the works. That keeps the assessment independent of the remediation cost — there is no interest in finding more damage than exists.
A protected tree was damaged during our build. What happens now?

The survey establishes the extent and cause of the damage and whether it fell within what the permission allowed. Where it did not, the authority may take enforcement action. Early, honest documentation of the position is a considerably better footing than a discovery later, and the survey serves that purpose whether you are the developer, the authority or a third party.