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Product News 0303 July 2017 Special Feature Professional Groundscare supplement
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Tree officer survey shows need for government action The Arboricultural Association recently completed a survey of UK tree officers to assess the impact that local authority funding constraints are having on the standard of tree care and the day-to-day ability of tree officers to fulfil their roles. There is a critical need for specialist arboricultural expertise within local authorities. This is essential for the implementation of policies which protect and nurture trees, and covers areas such as planning, highway street trees, housing, parks and open spaces. Recent anecdotal evidence has suggested that the important role of the local authority tree officer is increasingly under threat from cuts to local government budgets. “One way or another all of us in arboriculture work with tree officers and yet their role is in danger of erosion,” said a spokesman for the AA. “The tree officer role is diverse, but within the planning system, their
role is to scrutinise planning application submissions to a local authority in respect of trees and this will regularly include wider landscaping provisions. They also have a statutory duty to consider the making of tree preservation orders and administer the associated applications and Conservation Area notifications. “The role of tree officers is a technical and professional field demanding highly specific knowledge and is not a function that can be readily undertaken by those not qualifi ed to the same degree. “There are instances where the role of professional tree officers has been discarded, but more frequently other responsibilities are being attached to the post, such that the officer is faced with a challenging conflict of time apportionment. If the role of tree officers continues to be diluted it will take no imagination to realise that the spatial and
Conference shows power of landscape profession The Landscape Institute’s 2017 conference, titled Landscape as Infrastructure, was held at Manchester Metropolitan University last month. President Merrick DentonThompson introduced the conference with a rallying cry to the profession. “We need to think very carefully about how we connect with the public,” he said. “What we really are after is a cultural shift. We are in a unique position at the interface between people and natural systems.” He also talked about the fact that although the focus is often on urban areas, rural Britain is facing many of the largest problems, with loss of water and air quality and, in particular, problems with soils.
“The biodiversity and mineralised content and restoration of our soils is of top importance,” he said. “We are dealing with soils every day, but do we deal with the science and biodiversity of soils? “We are very good at fluffy feathery things, but not so good at doing something about actual science. Every commission for transforming landscape must ask, what is the biological quality and what can I do to improve it?” He added that the way for the profession to have influence is to show how it can shape significant issues of today, such as childhood obesity and the health and care of the elderly. Landscape Institute Enquiry 3
environmental qualities of urban and rural landscapes will suffer. “Many take our national landscape for granted, but it is under increasing pressure. LAs have a pivotal responsibility and this can only be achieved effectively by dedicated and professional tree officers.
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“What is clear is that these issues need to be addressed at the highest levels for any action to be sufficiently wide-reaching and effective. “The AA therefore intends to use the full findings of the survey to inform its own strategy and to petition central and local government and associated organisations concerning the actual and potentially major negative consequences to our urban forest and the wider environment if the professional, impartial and essential expertise of tree officers continues to diminish.” Arboricultural Association Enquiry 1
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The key findings of the survey include: • There are 418 principal councils in the UK. Of the total 163 responses received from the survey, 83% of tree officers considered that the ongoing austerity measures had adversely affected their ability to do their job well. • In terms of what was causing this negative impact, 72% felt that a combination of reduced
staff capacity, and reduced support functions such as administration and enforcement, had the greatest effect. • Tree officers were also concerned that reduced budgets for training and continued professional development (CPD) were having a detrimental effect on their ability to carry out their work effectively.
Fairhaven achieves GEO certificate Fairhaven in Lancashire has joined an elite group of sustainability-minded clubs. The Lytham St Anne’s club has been awarded GEO certification possessed by golf clubs in 40 countries. GEO certification acknowledges clubs that have done the most to promote sustainability at their course.
Fairhaven achieved GEO Certified status via the OnCourse programme. James Hutchinson, BIGGA’s sustainability executive, completed an ecological management plan for the club and said: “It was a pleasure to assist such an environmentally minded golf course through the OnCourse section and then on to the consequent GEO certificate.”
Fairhaven hosted an Open qualifying event during June and professional golf has been played there since 1934. Among the rare and protected species of flora found on the site are marsh helleborine, large flowered hemp nettle and creeping willow.
Street Furniture & Pedestrianisation The Urban Landscape
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Amphitheatre-style seating for historic park Leading manufacturers of street furniture, Furnitubes, designed and supplied 250 linear metres of timber-topped seating platforms for Dreamland, located in the seaside town of Margate, Kent. The historic amusement park recently underwent a multi-million pound redevelopment, including a main stage to host music events for up to 15,000 people.
Machinery, Plant & Vehicles Iroko timber platforms were added to various lengths of concrete blocks, forming an amphitheatrestyle setting. It is proving to be a popular resting point for
day-to-day visitors, as well as offering seating provision for the main stage. Furnitubes
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A round-up of products and news
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