About Trees Ltd. been asked by The Duchy of Cornwall to carry out some essential tree safety works along the boundary of Faversham Cricket ground and the A2 in Faversham.
This will be taking place on Friday 10th & over the weekend of the 11th & 12th February. Due to the nature of the roads, these were the only dates offered to us from Kent Highways. Our permit for the 2 days over the weekend from the hours of 07:00-19:00. We aim to start work on the Saturday at 08:00. Light levels will dictate the end of the working day, but it should not be later than 17:00 if all goes according to plan
Apologies in advance for the inconvenience that this will cause.
The work being carried out consists of the reduction in height of an ivy boundary roadside hedge to 1.5-2m AGL (above ground level). This mainly consists of sycamore and elder with some holly thrown in, and reaches from the boundary with the football pitch to the large evergreen oaks that are in the grounds of the cricket club just over half way along to the boundary with Reads Restaurant in Faversham. Beyond that point, the hedge is to remain untouched at the request of Ecologists. This is to increase overall stability of this roadside hedge but keep the valuable habitat that the hedge provides.
There are several self-seeded ash trees along this boundary also that, following independent tree safety audit and an Ecologists report are to be cut down / felled to ground level. It is essential that this work be carried out before the birds nesting season starts in March (Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981). The reason behind the felling of the ash trees, over and above everything else is safety, as many of the ash on this site have Ash Dieback. There are also several other species of tree along this boundary, sweet chestnut and oak to name a few, with these trees dead wood/branches along with low branches which may damage high sided vehicles are also to be removed/pruned.
We have worked with The Duchy at this site for many years and this is some overdue maintenance work, that the LA are aware of despite no protections in the form of TPO’s or TCA’s affect any of the works being carried out.
All of the conditions requested by Kent Highways, Swale BC and Environmental Health have been satisfied. Trees will be accessed using a MEWP which also has the correct permit in place for and will be used by IPAF operatives. All ground crew have the relevant qualifications needed for this work and will be covered by our Public Liability Ins. and Employers Liability Ins. Traffic Management (TM) permits are all correct and a dedicated TM company will be laying out the cones and light heads.
Full RAMS have been issued and About Trees Ltd. will work alongside the Method Statement provided to us by the Ecologist company that carried out the site survey.
`As a company we are proud of our connection with The Duchy of Cornwall and appreciate that they choose to use About Trees Ltd to carry out their tree care in Kent, these connections are built of honest advice, trust and the quality of our work. It enables us to thrive as a company, employ & train local people, something that isn’t quite so easy these days
