Our team of staff pride themselves on their ability to deliver a skilled, qualified and professional service regarding a wide variety of tree related operations.
We welcome enquiries in respect of contracts both large and small. Whether pruning a single garden fruit tree or clearing numerous large trees for development we apply the same level of commitment to safety, efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Work on trees may be necessary for safety, health, space requirement or aesthetic reasons. Special consideration regarding age, condition, site, species and any previous management applied to a tree may often be necessary to decide upon the appropriate course of action.
A range of treatments are applicable:
Cleaning Out: This application encompasses objectives regarding tree health, safety and appearance. It involves the removal of identified hazards and points of decay such as dead, dying and diseased wood, stumps of broken branches, unwanted epicormic shoots and constricting climbing plants such as ivy.
Pruning: Pruning may be undertaken to preserve tree health and in the case of fruit trees promote fruit production. It may also enhance appearance and improve safety. Formative pruning of young trees can reduce the need to carry out tree surgery in their maturity and encourage an attractive and well-balanced structure.
Crown Reduction: Decreasing the size of the tree canopy can help to reduce wind resistance thereby reducing the risk of wind damage and uprooting. An attractive, well-balanced shape can be achieved enhancing the trees aesthetics within the landscape or garden
Crown Lifting: Lifting the crown simply involves the removal of lower branches to a given height. This may improve the trees appearance and/or enable access about the base of the tree.
Pollarding: The technique of pollarding was historically practiced to generate a crop of poles and foliage that was out of the way of grazing animals. A group of old pollards together is often indicative of wood-pasture. Pollarding today is generally applied in urban areas in order to keep trees small and these are re-cut on a manageable rotation. Not all species or ages of tree are tolerant of such immediate removal of the whole crown
Once the decision has been made to remove a tree several methods may be employed to undertake the work safely and without collateral damage to property wherever possible.
Dead, dying and dangerous trees often limit conventional methods such as felling from the ground or tree climbing.
We have the insurance, experience and resources to tackle any situation.
Large trees in close proximity to property may be dismantled using advanced rigging techniques or by employing specialist plant such as cranes or MEWP's (Mobile Elevated Work Platform).
Cranes provide the advantage of removing large bulks of timber at a time. Removed pieces and even whole trees may be lifted over property and brought to ground at a convenient position for dispatch.
MEWP's allow our arborists to access high into the tree canopy without depending on the tree for support. Our staff hold the relevant qualifications to operate MEWP's in accordance with Health & Safety Regulations.
Advanced Rigging Techniques: We have at our disposal a wide range of specialist lifting and lowering equipment to enable us to remove limbs and lower them to the ground in a controlled and safe manner.
Amongst our range of equipment we have a Hobbs lowering device. This device, sited at the base of the tree when used in conjunction with our bull ropes and pulleys enables the ground crew to lift or lower almost half a ton under complete control. This can be extremely useful when removing large limbs that would otherwise damage property were they to fall even a few inches.
Other techniques we may employ include speed-lining or zip-lining. Using this method of lowering allows us to remove cut pieces and bring them to ground a considerable distance from the tree. Controlling cut pieces in this way carries them over precious property and if possible delivers them straight to the chipper.
Stump treatment: Our staff hold the relevant qualifications regarding chemical applications and stump treatment. Stumps may be treated to prevent re-growth and encourage decay. Treatment can be undertaken so as not to put children and animals at any risk.
Our choice of chemical is powerful and effective yet bio-degradable and non-toxic once taken down through the roots and passed into the soil.
Stump grinding: We can provide a stump grinding service to remove tree stumps altogether. Narrow access issues are rarely a problem and we can deal with any size stump in most locations.
We are fully qualified to carry out tree works on public roads and highways in accordance with the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991 (NRASWA).
Our team of staff hold the relevant City & Guilds Chapter 8: Signing, Lighting and Guarding qualification and accredited I.D Cards.
We can independently provide all the necessary signage, cones, barriers, stop/go boards and traffic lights as necessary.
We are on call 24/7 to respond to emergency situations where fallen trees and branches need clearing promptly from major highways, country roads and private drives.
From our base near Bridgnorth we can be on site in less than one hour anywhere in Shropshire and the West Midlands area.
Please contact us immediately in the event of a tree or branch fall which creates an obstacle or poses a threat to persons and/or property.
From our base near Bridgnorth we can be on site in less than one hour anywhere in Shropshire and the West Midlands area.
We will always endeavour to respond as quickly as possible and provide the skilled manpower and equipment necessary to eliminate any hazards caused by fallen trees and branches.
Please make a note of our contact details just in case!
We provide a complete tree establishment service. Our qualified and experienced approach to tree planting can help to minimise losses and give young trees the best start possible. Previous planting contracts have included orchards, hedgerows, roadside embankments, woodlands, shelterbelts and individual specimen trees.
We can assist you with:
- Tree Selection (The right tree in the right place!)
- Tree Sourcing (Getting the best quality young trees).
- Tree Planting (Using the correct methods).
- Tree Protection (The right materials to help your trees survive).
- Tree Maintenance (The best post-planting care possible).
We can also construct robust and attractive tree guards where individual trees require protection from browsing deer and/or livestock.
Our team of qualified arboricultural surveyors can provide friendly advice and/or produce concise legal documents following tree inspection. Thus demonstrating the clients fulfilment of their duty of care for trees within their ownership.
Our combination of academic expertise and hands-on working with many trees in various conditions and situations provides us with an understanding of tree biology, tree problems and their solutions second to none.
We also have the ability to make climbing inspections high in the tree canopy where ground based tree inspectors simply cannot reach. Binoculars are no substitute for up-close inspection where cracks, cavities, hazardous limbs, fungal brackets and deadwood pose a threat to persons and property below.
Our extensive working knowledge of BS5837: 2005 Trees in Relation to Construction also enables us to work with architects and developers in relation to:
- Undertaking a tree survey
- Determining a category of retention
- Preperation of a Tree Constraints Plan and statement of initial arboricultural implications
- Producing an Arboricultural Implication Assessment
- Producing a Tree Protection Plan and an Arboricultural Method Statement
Our reports are backed up with over 70 years of combined experience, arboricultural qualifications and Public Indemnity Insurance cover.
Alex Howden & Co not only provide specialist arboriculture based services but also cater for small-scale forestry contracting operations and woodland management.
We have a grass roots understanding of the forestry industry and both historic and contemporary sivicultural systems. We have created several working management plans and liaised with the Forestry Commission to obtain felling licenses and grant funding towards the cost of operations. We can also provide a standing timber volume estimation and draw upon current market prices to assist a client with the economic reality of proposed management applications.
We have given talks to members of the Royal Forestry Society on traditional forms of silviculture.
Our contacts with timber buyers and hauliers can assist a client with the realization of their management objectives and secure economic returns. As well as mainstream produce such as chip, bars, pulp and sawlogs we also have contacts for the sale of rustic poles, hedge stakes, hedging binders and other niche markets.
Our experience of small-scale forestry is both practical and varied. Contracts undertaken have included:
- Sensitive restoration of Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland.
- Landscape enhancement on large Victorian planted estates.
- Systematic thinning of rows in commercial softwood plantations.
Our team of staff can provide skilled felling and extraction of timber to roadside.
We can arrange the sale and haulage of produce from roadside to market thereby completing the chain with little or no stress to the client.
We specialise in hedge trimming and shaping and regularly work in some very prestigious gardens where the standard of work has to be extremely high. All shapes and sizes of hedge, broadleaf and conifer can be trimmed and we pride ourselves on the quality of our work.
We have experience of trimming some very tall beech, yew, thuja and leylandii hedges where a mobile elevated work platform was necessary to safely access the tops and sides in difficult situations.
Features such as archways, towers, domes and cones are all within our repertoire.
This traditional rural craft can be applied to hedgerows not only 'on the farm' but also to provide an attractive feature in parks and gardens.
We also provide this service on 'new build' construction sites where laying any retained hedgerows can mitigate the loss of other trees through development.
We take great pride in the competition winning standard of our hedgelaying. Clients can choose from a range of Welsh and English styles of hedgelaying depending on the suitability of the hedgerow and its intended use as a boundary or simply a pleasing structural feature.
Our Greenmech Arborist 19x28MT50 Wood Chipper is available for hire. The machine is less than 12 months old and is well maintained and ready for work.
Our Wood Chipper can be towed easily behind a suitable vehicle and weighs 1300kg.
The maximum chipping capacity of our machine is 7.5 inch x 11 inch.
Two powerful hydraulic feed rollers and no-stress power control make this machine a pleasure to use.
Very little if any pre-cutting of branches is necessary prior to chipping. If you can lift the branch into the infeed chute the rest is history!
The quality of chip produced by this machine is perfect for use in landscaping and once composted as a mulch.
Please contact us for further details and prices. Commercial and domestic hirers considered.
We are happy to assist other arboricultural service providers by undertaking fully qualified LOLER inspections of their tree climbing and rigging equipment. We offer very competitive rates for this service and we are willing to travel well beyond the Shropshire and West Midlands area in order to carry out LOLER inspections.
The Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) came into force on 5 December 1998. The requirements of LOLER apply to employers, the self-employed and people in control of or managing lifting operations.
LOLER requires lifting equipment to be thoroughly examined. Lifting equipment includes all components of a personal climbing system such as harnesses, karabiners, ascenders and climbing ropes. Lifting equipment also includes all components of a tree rigging system such as lowering ropes, slings, pulleys and lowering devices.
LOLER requires personal climbing equipment to be thoroughly examined every 6 months and tree rigging equipment every 12 months.
We can also mark or label equipment with a unique identity number and pre-calculated Safe Working Load Limit (SWL). This complete service reduces the amount of preparation required by the client. An instantly recognisable SWL visible on each component of a rigging system enables tree surgeons to choose the appropriate hardware out on the job without the need to calculate safety factors, thereby saving time, improving safety and minimising wear.
In accordance with LOLER after making a thorough examination we will notify the client of any defects and make a report of the examination.
Please contact us for further details and prices.
