February 2021: Sylvan is advising on veteran tree matters in Gloucestershire

The need for regular update inspection surveys of notable and veteran trees is important. On a recent site visit we undertook in Gloucestershire we recorded that a number of the trees on the site had developed new features since our previous visit. Where additional features arise on notable trees, this can require them to be reclassified as veteran trees which are regarded as irreplaceable habitats under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Sylvan’s co-principal Julian Forbes-Laird has developed a systematic and repeatable method, termed RAVEN, for the classification of veteran trees which has been inquiry tested and is now being widely adopted.