We carry out regular risk assessments of trees that we
own. This helps us decide what we need to do to keep people
beneath them reasonably safe. Exactly how we do this is
detailed in our
Tree Risk Management Plan (pdf, Jul 11,
515KB).
North Somerset Council is a large tree owner with many thousands
of trees growing in our woodlands, parks and open spaces and
alongside the highway. These trees provide many benefits for us
all, including making our landscape more attractive, contributing
to our wildlife, absorbing pollution, helping us adapt to climate
change and even adding value to the price of property.
Trees and their branches can fall to the ground, so it is
important that whilst we maximise their benefits we also take
precautions to keep the risk they pose to people and property
within reasonable limits.
We prioritise our surveys, dealing firstly with trees in busier
areas and we survey trees near our busiest highways first because
they are our most used sites. We also survey trees in many of
our schools and busiest parks at the same time. Available
resources thereafter will be targeted at the remaining sites we
own.
For more information contact our
Tree
Officers.
