1 St Martins Terrace, 16 Pages Lane, Hornsey, London, N10 1QY
Oak tree at the front of 1 St Martin’s Terrace, within our land. The tree is subject to a TPO. The application is to undertake ground works in the vicinity of the tree. I have liaised with Daniel Monk on this matter as to whether an application is necessary but he has not determined impact. We are therefore making the application in case this is necessary for the works. The reason for the proposed work is to improve the environment for the tree and to mitigate damage caused by the roots of the tree. We have taken advice from Fiona Critchley of Arborecultural Solutions LLP regarding the care and management of the tree. Please see attached her report. Damage: We have noted damage to our concrete driveway and garden walls and believe that this is caused by the roots of the tree. There is also damage to the off-street parking area and floor slab of the extension at the neighbouring property at 14 Pages Lane. Fiona Critchley inspected the tree and the site and noted the following: Damage to retaining wall to south of the tree (para 4.1). Damage to concrete drive and front path steps (para 4.2). Damage to paving at 14 Pages Lane (para 4.3). Landscaping and groundwork options: Fiona Critchley set out the following options: 1) Concrete driveway (para 5.2.1): Remove or reduce the size of the concrete parking area to allow rainwater to penetrate the underlying soils so reducing storm water run off and improving the rooting conditions for the Oak tree. Replace using porous hard surfacing and a cellular raft system (such as Cellweb). 2) Root barrier (para 5.2.2): Excavate a trench along the party boundary between 1 St Martins Terrace and 14 Pages Lane, install a root barrier of Ribbed Root Panels or CuTex Copper to manufacturers specifications and backfill the trench. 3) Retaining wall (para 5.2.3): If the area of concrete parking is reduced adjacent to the shrubbed wall it would be possible to remove the retaining wall, remove the infill soil, and regrade the soil as a slope. This would negate the need for the retaining wall and lower the soils levels around the base of the tree back to the original level. If the wall is retained there are some engineered solutions that may reduce the direct damage of the root growth for example constructing the wall on lintel bridging the roots. Our proposals: Completely remove the concrete and replace it using porous hard surfacing and a cellular raft system (such as Cellweb). and Install a root barrier along the4 party boundary between 1 St. Martins Terrace and 14 Page’s Lane. and Repair the retaining wall, in line with the recommendations but Fiona Critchley. The work will be carried out to BS 3998: Recommendations for Tree Work.