The British Standard "Trees in Relation to Design, Demolition and Construction - Recommendations" (BS 5837) (2012), details the steps that should be taken to ensure that trees are appropriately and successfully retained when a development takes place. It is set by the British Standards Institute.

We work to the BS:5837 as a minimum and keep ourselves up to date with any and all changes and revisions to the standard. We are happy to advise you on the BS:5837 if you have any queries.

We are! We pride ourselves on being an Arboricultural Association approved contractor, the only comprehensive accreditation scheme for professional tree surgery businesses within the UK. As part of the accreditation process our health and safety, operational competence, work standards and technical knowledge are regularly and rigorously assessed, giving our customers the reassurance that they are working with a high-quality, independently approved company. In addition to this, our health and safety policies and procedures have been further approved by CHAS, SafeContractor and SALUS and we also hold Trustmark accreditation.

Our staff are fully qualified for the level of their role and are regularly encouraged to gain new tickets and accreditations to further their careers. As a bare minimum, all of our staff are fully first aid trained with an additional forestry focused certificate and will hold tickets for the machinery they use on site. We are very happy to discuss our staff qualifications in more detail if required, for which you are welcome to contact our offices directly at any time.

Dartmoor Tree Surgeons Ltd holds Public & Product and Employers Liability Insurances to £5 million and £10 million respectively. Certificates can be provided upon request.

Absolutely! Our reviews page can be found here and is regularly updated when we received new feedback from our customers. You can also access our Google reviews here.

For the vast majority of works we undertake a free of charge, no obligation inspection before any plan of action is agreed on. Our contracts manager Anthony will arrange a visit with you at a time to suit you.

Yes, always.

Our quotes come with no strings attached and will include all additional costs (for example for road closures), so you know exactly how much your planned works will be.

Under the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 you have 14 days from entering into a service contract in which you can cancel. If you have requested that the service be provided sooner than this, you still have the right to cancel, but you must pay for the value of the service that is provided up to the point you cancel. The right to cancel may not apply when undertaking urgent or emergency work.

We do; a copy of these will always be provided with your quote, and can also be found on our website here.

Once the works have been completed, Dartmoor Tree Surgeons will send you an invoice by post or email according to your preference. Payment will usually be due within 7 days of receipt of our invoice. We accept payment by bank transfer and cheque but unfortunately cannot accept payment over the phone.

When you call us you will be speaking to either our contracts manager Anthony, our office manager Rosa, or our financial administrator Gabrielle. They will be on hand throughout to provide any help or support you might need.

Although it does depend on traffic conditions and the distance from our yard, we usually aim to be on site between 08:00 and 08:30 for full day or morning half days, or between 12:30 and 13:30 for jobs beginning in the afternoon. Our team leaders will always ring ahead if there is going to be a delay to this, as well as introducing themselves once they have arrived and letting you know that they will be getting started.

Your property will be left neat and tidy at the end of the day, as far as conditions can permit (for example, very wet ground can become unavoidably muddy). If you have any concerns before works start please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Whilst there is no legal need to inform your neighbours, we would always recommend giving them a heads-up before works start, especially if the tree being worked on belongs to your neighbour or impacts their view or boundary.

If access will be required through your neighbours’ property in order to complete the works then by law your neighbour must be informed and must give their consent for works to proceed. Dartmoor Tree Surgeons is happy to make contact with your neighbour on your behalf if necessary. For larger works, we can also arrange a letter drop in your area to provide advance warning regarding any effect on the traffic.

It shouldn’t be necessary to protect your paths, although you are of course welcome to arrange this if you would prefer. Lawns are assessed on a case-by-case basis; lighter tree works in good conditions should not cause any damage, and our team use preventative measures to make sure that machinery will not damage your turf. In wet conditions, or where heavier tree works are necessary, it is possible that lawns or grassy areas will be temporarily damaged or made muddy. If necessary, we can provide ground protection mats to mitigate this. Please don’t hesitate to discuss your needs with us during your inspection as this is something we can factor in from day one.

Unfortunately the majority of tree surgery is quite noisy! The essential machinery we use, such as chainsaws and chippers, make a loud sound and there is no way to prevent this. However, please rest assured that we will never leave our equipment running needlessly, and that for their own safety our team will take regular breaks.

Please do note that whilst using their equipment the team will be wearing high grade hearing protection, meaning that if you approach them or try to speak to them during works they will not hear and might not see you. If you do need to speak to our team at any time during works, please make sure you have the attention of one of our staff, who will then be able to come out of the work zone and speak with you safely.

Absolutely! We can provide a variety of options to deal with the arisings from your works, from leaving you with the woodchip or logs to creating habitat piles to removing everything from site - just let us know what would work for you. We dispose of everything we remove responsibly, either processing the wood and woodchip in our yard or arranging for their conversion into biomass.

The simple answer is yes, however there are a number of factors to consider.

Firstly, you will need to be sure that the tree is not in any conservation area or under a TPO. Secondly, the works you arrange can only be to the parts of the tree overhanging your boundary and no further. Finally, no works undertaken can cause any harm to the tree in question.

We would usually recommend speaking with your neighbour directly and seeking advice from a professional in all cases; neighbouring trees is a subject we are particularly familiar with, and we would be happy to answer any queries you might have before undertaking an inspection.

This can depend on where you are located. Your local planning authority will have a map of all conservation zones and TPO’d trees within their area, and many of these are accessible for free online. Unfortunately not every LPA provides this, in which case it can be a more involved process whereby you will need to directly contact your local planning team or tree officer. This is an area Dartmoor Tree Surgeons are very happy to help with, and we always double check our customers’ trees to be sure of their status before beginning works.

Being in a conservation zone or having a TPO does mean that the works you can do to your tree are limited. Unless the tree is dangerous and requires immediate works to be made safe you will need to apply to your local planning authority for any works you would like to do, including routine regular tree maintenance. In general you are most likely to get permission for works which are for the tree’s benefit and which will help to preserve it for the future, however each tree is assessed on a case by case basis and there are no hard and fast answers. Dartmoor Tree Surgeons can advise you on any protected trees you might be responsible for, as well as being able to make an application to your local authority on your behalf.

Always remember that it is a crime to for works to be undertaken on a protected tree without first receiving appropriate permission from your local authority.

Although it depends on who you ask, the short answer is - nothing! “Arborist” is the more technical or professional term for a tree surgeon, but both titles refer to the same job.

An arboricultural consultant differs from an arborist or tree surgeon in that the consultant will inspect and advise only and will not perform any tree surgery works themselves. Consultants are usually highly experienced and qualified in tree care and management and can be employed to inspect trees on large or small scale, to produce reports for mortgage or building applications, and in some cases to act as expert witnesses. Generally, you will most likely have been advised by another party (such as your mortgage provider) if you need to contact a consultant.

Whilst Dartmoor Tree Surgeons does not provide consultancy services, our sister company Advanced Arboriculture does and will be delighted to answer any questions you may have or arrange for an inspection.

Our business focus has always been to preserve and care for the environment as much as possible. A number of our practices have been informed by this, for example:

• Our initial visit to a site includes a wildlife and biodiversity assessment, from which we can then mitigate the effects of our works on the local environment.

• If necessary, we work with ecologists to ensure we are doing the utmost to protect the local flora and fauna on site

• We have joined the SME Climate Commitment, aiming to halve our emissions by 2030, achieve net zero emissions by 2050 (or sooner!) and agreeing to disclose our progress on a yearly basis

• We fuel our machines using Aspen, an alkylate based fuel which produces much fewer emissions and chemical biproducts and keeps the equipment in a higher working order than other fuels

• We have a number of battery operated saws and hedge trimmers which are used whenever possible. As well as being completely fume free, battery powered machines also reduce the exposure of our team to strong noise and vibration

• The oil we use for our machinery is fully biodegradable

• All of our vehicles are equipped with spill kits

• We dispose of any arisings from works responsibly, either processing the logs and woodchip at our yard or arranging for these to be converted into biomass

To answer a question with a question - how long is a piece of string? There is no flat answer to this, as a number of different factors need to be taken into account when planning works. Our contracts manager Anthony will be able to give you a clear, no-strings-attached quote after inspecting your tree and discussing your needs.

By its very nature, tree surgery can be a dangerous and difficult job. The health and safety of our team, our clients, and the public in general is one of the most important things we consider on a day to day basis, and we take our responsibilities in this area extremely seriously.

Our staff are provided with the correct PPE, including protective chainsaw trousers, helmets with ear defenders and face guards, and heavy duty chainsaw boots. All of our PPE and climbing equipment is inspected regularly and is retired after a certain period of time, whether or not they exhibit signs of wear and tear. We conduct regular health assessments with our team, including arranging professional hearing tests, conducting toolbox talks on safe tool usage, and encouraging staff to let us know if they are struggling or unwell at any point. We also have a qualified Mental Health First Aider in the team and promote an inclusive and supportive environment.

Every member of our tree surgery team is qualified in first aid with an additional forestry qualification, this is updated fully every three years with refresher courses in between. We also complete an on site risk assessment before beginning any job.

In terms of our clients and the general public, every aspect of safety is taken into consideration when planning a job. Our team are highly experienced with rigging, meaning that they can safely and efficiently remove trees in stages as opposed to felling outright. They are also qualified in traffic management.

We always establish a work zone for our jobs, and will make sure no member of the public enters the work zone at any time for their own safety.

If you would like a full copy of our health and safety policy or our RAMS please don’t hesitate to contact the office directly.

Whilst tree surgery works can be performed at any time of year, the ideal period is between late October and the beginning of March. This avoids the summer bird nesting season, as well as it simply being easier to see what you are dealing with when the trees have lost their leaves! A general rule to follow is to aim to have works done between when a tree loses its leaves and then comes out into bud again in the spring, however this doesn’t hold true for all trees - cherry trees, for example, prefer to be worked on after they have flowered, and magnolia and walnut are best pruned in the summer. For tailored, individual advice please contact us directly, and rest assured that our recommendations for works will always take into account the time of year and the health of your trees!