{"id":30,"date":"2011-10-27T15:44:47","date_gmt":"2011-10-27T15:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/?page_id=30"},"modified":"2023-09-26T17:08:54","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T17:08:54","slug":"you-and-the-law","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/estate\/you-and-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"You and the law"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"259\" height=\"138\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/landowner.jpg?resize=259%2C138&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Estate Trees\" class=\"wp-image-49\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Anyone who owns, rents or &#8216;<em>occupies<\/em>&#8216; land has a legal &#8216;duty of care&#8217; to take &#8216;<em>reasonable steps<\/em>&#8216; to ensure that the trees on their land are in a safe condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tree Safety legislation &#8216;duty of care&#8217;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957\/1984, anyone who owns, rents or <em>&#8216;occupies&#8217;<\/em> land has a legal <em>&#8216;duty of care&#8217;<\/em> to take <em>&#8216;reasonable steps&#8217;<\/em> to ensure that the trees on their land are in a safe condition and do not place people or property at risk.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In addition, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires organisations to ensure that trees under their care do not cause foreseeable damage to their employees or the public.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tree Safety &#8211; Best Practice<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Nathional-Tree-Safety-Group.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"286\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Nathional-Tree-Safety-Group.png?resize=300%2C286&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Nathional Tree Safety Group\" class=\"wp-image-1329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Nathional-Tree-Safety-Group.png?resize=300%2C286&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Nathional-Tree-Safety-Group.png?w=511&amp;ssl=1 511w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Best practice guidance from the <strong>Government (HSE), <\/strong><strong>National Tree Safety Group <\/strong>and <strong>Arboricultural Association<\/strong> advises that <em>&#8220;trees subject to frequent public access &#8211; those that are closely approached by many people every day are regularly inspected and that records be maintained of all such surveys&#8221;<\/em>. Should an accident occur, the &#8216;<em>occupier<\/em>&#8216; may be sued for negligence unless they can produce evidence of regular tree safety inspections and maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NTSG&#8217;s publication <a title=\"National Tree Safety Group - Guidance on trees and public safety.\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forestry.gov.uk\/pdf\/FCMS024.pdf\/$FILE\/FCMS024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Common sense risk management of trees,<\/a> provide sensible and practical advice on what tree inspection should be carried out and what records are important to keep. Learn how <a title=\"HSE Guidelines\" href=\"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/estate\/hse-guidelines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">OTISS makes it easy for landowners to fulfil their legal duty of care<\/a> by following the current best practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does it mean in practice?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The current <em>best practice<\/em> guidelines can be summarised as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Carry out an overall assessment of the trees on your property. Divide the trees in <strong>zones<\/strong>, where each zones is assigned a risk category (e.g. high, medium or low). The &#8216;high&#8217; risk category is recommended for <em>&#8216;where there is frequent public access to trees&#8217;<\/em> (e.g. in and around picnic areas, schools, children&#8217;s playgrounds, popular foot paths, car parks, or at the side of busy roads).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Detailed information about every tree is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">not<\/span> required, but <strong>maps <\/strong>showing the<strong> locations of trees and zones<\/strong> are considered useful.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For the trees in the <strong>high risk zones<\/strong>, a system of annual, formal inspections is appropriate. A less frequent programme of inspections is appropriate of the lower risk zones. These inspections should involve a <strong>quick visual check<\/strong> for obvious signs that a tree is likely to be unstable and be carried out by a person with a working knowledge of trees and their defects, but who need not be an arboricultural specialist. There are 1 day courses available to train people to carry out Basic Tree Safety Inspections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Professional arboricultural advice and assistance is required<\/span> when defects or situations are found that are outside the experience and knowledge of the person carrying out the basic checks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is important to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">keep records<\/span> of when a zone or an individual tree has been inspected, along with details of any defects found and the action taken. Should it ever be needed, these records provide the &#8216;<strong>audit trail<\/strong>&#8216; that shows that you have fulfilled your &#8216;<strong>duty of care<\/strong>&#8216;.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>OTISS provides estate managers with an easy and effective system to carry out this <em>best practice<\/em> for tree safety on their properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">More information&#8230;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Capture\" width=\"280\" height=\"39\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-840\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Capture.png?resize=280%2C39&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Logo NTSG\"><a title=\"National Tree Safety Group - Guidance on trees and public safety.\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forestry.gov.uk\/pdf\/FCMS024.pdf\/$FILE\/FCMS024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Common sense risk management of trees,<\/a> National Tree Safety Group, 2011. Guidance on trees and public safety in the UK for owners, managers and advisers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a title=\"National Tree Safety Group - Guidance on trees and public safety.\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forestry.gov.uk\/pdf\/FCMS025.pdf\/$FILE\/FCMS025.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Common sense risk management of trees &#8211; landowner summary,<\/a> National Tree Safety Group, 2011.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The <strong>Visitor Safety in the Countryside Group<\/strong> provide information on <a title=\"Visitor Safety in the Countryside : Good Practice : Tree safety management\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/www.vscg.co.uk\/good-practice\/published\/tree-safety-management\" target=\"_blank\">Tree safety management<\/a> which includes information on <strong>risks<\/strong>, <strong>responsibilities<\/strong> and <strong>good practice<\/strong> guidence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><p>The UK government&#8217;s <strong>Health and Safety Executive (HSE)<\/strong> have published a circular on <a title=\"HSE Guidelines\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/estate\/hse-guidelines\/\" target=\"_blank\">Management of the risk from falling trees<\/a>.<\/p> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.trees.org.uk\/Trees.org.uk\/files\/88\/88444a6a-e073-459e-abd5-47fa9ad316dd.png?w=1200&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Logo : Arboricultural Association\">The <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trees.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Arboricultural Association&#8217;s<\/a> website includes a selection of <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trees.org.uk\/publications\/Guides\" target=\"_blank\">Guidance Notes<\/a>, in particular &#8220;<em><strong>TREE SURVEYS: A guide to good practice<\/strong><\/em>&#8220;, Arboricultural Association Guidance Note 7.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a title=\"LTOA - Risk Limitation Strategy \" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ltoa.org.uk\/resources\/risk-limitation-strategy\" target=\"_blank\">Risk Limitation Strategy,<\/a> London Tree Officers Association, 2008. The LTOA produced its first Risk Limitation Strategy 1992. It was a collaborative effort between tree officers and the insurance and loss adjusting sectors. It provides a frame of reference for dealing with tree risk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anyone who owns, rents or &#8216;occupies&#8216; land has a legal &#8216;duty of care&#8217; to take &#8216;reasonable steps&#8216; to ensure that the trees on their land are in a safe condition. Tree Safety legislation &#8216;duty of care&#8217; Tree Safety &#8211; Best Practice Best practice guidance from the Government (HSE), National Tree Safety Group and Arboricultural Association [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":328,"menu_order":50,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P1VFWW-u","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4804,"href":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30\/revisions\/4804"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.otiss.co.uk\/w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}