Developers, architects and agents with trees on or near a site

Where is the site with trees?

Work out BS 5837 root protection areas for trees on or near your site, then get the tree protection plan and method statement drafted. Free to read.

Free to read
No sign-up until the draft
Every fact cites its source

ePlan fills in

Site boundary
Tree preservation orders
Conservation area
Ancient woodland nearby
Building outlines

How it works

Root protection areas and tree protection plan, from one answer

Enter the site and list the trees with their stem diameters.One answer starts the project. ePlan names it and looks up the place.
ePlan works out each root protection area and checks TPO and conservation-area status.3 more questions, each with a "not sure yet" way out.
Read the draft plan free, then download it for your arboriculturist and application.The draft marks what to check (amber), what to pick (blue) and what to fill in (violet).

What you get

Root protection areas and tree protection plan and 2 more documents

The first draft is free to read. Each document after it is drafted from the same confirmed facts.

The first draft

Root protection areas and tree protection plan (draft)

Site and tree schedule: species, stem diameter, height, category
Root protection area for each tree
Tree constraints notes for the layout
Arboricultural impact assessment: trees removed and retained
Protective fencing and ground protection
Construction exclusion zones

Modeled on: BS 5837:2012 Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction

Next · 2

Arboricultural method statement

Sequence of works
Work inside root protection areas
Fencing and ground protection specification
Site supervision and sign-off

Next · 3

Tree protection plan drawing notes

Retained trees and their root protection areas
Fence lines
Access, storage and site huts

From public data

What ePlan fills in, and from where

Tree preservation orders and conservation areasplanning.data.gov.uk
Ancient woodland nearbyDefra MAGIC map (Natural England ancient woodland inventory)
Site boundary and building outlinesOrdnance Survey OS OpenMap - Local

12 times

the stem diameter is the radius of a single-stem tree's root protection area under BS 5837
Source: Malvern Hills District Council, BS 5837 (2012) guidance

Questions

Root protection areas and tree protection plan: what people ask

How is a root protection area worked out?

For a single-stemmed tree, BS 5837 sets the root protection area as a circle with a radius of twelve times the stem diameter. Multi-stemmed trees use ten times the basal diameter, measured above the root flare.

Source: malvernhills.gov.uk

When does the council want a tree survey?

Many councils ask for a tree survey and tree protection plan whenever trees stand within or next to the site. North Somerset, for example, counts trees with stems over 75 mm at 1.5 m that overhang the site or stand within 12 times their stem diameter of it.

Source: n-somerset.gov.uk

What about ancient or veteran trees?

Government standing advice asks for a buffer zone at least 15 times the tree's diameter around ancient or veteran trees, or 5 metres from the edge of the canopy if that area is larger.

Source: gov.uk