Site Clearance to facilitate a Residential Development

Objective

Clear all identified trees on a 200-acre site in Buckinghamshire in preparation for a residential development project. Remove all stumps from site. In addition, pollard 50 mature Poplar trees.

Context

The site was complex, surrounded by A&B roads on all four sides, with the Poplars in need of pollarding hanging over a busy dual carriageway. On site there were also several trees to be removed under licence from Natural England, as well as both active and disused badger sets.

Delivery

• Following numerous site visits over an 8-month period, with our client, ecology consultants, arboriculture consultants and grounds work contractors, we identified all constraints and agree methodologies for each area of the site.
• Created a method statement with a breakdown of each area / operation, for the various stakeholders to review and familiarise themselves before we mobilised.
• Following a detailed site induction and briefing, we began the project.
• Installed traffic management on all minor roads to enable all boundary trees and vegetation to be removed by one of our 14-ton excavators and grapple saw. All roots removed with a specialist hydraulic root sheer.
• Mechanically dismantled and felled a substantial row of over 400 +20m tall Conifers running through the centre of the site, utilising a 16-ton excavator with grapple saw.
• Completed first phase of the project over 3 weeks. All trees felled, removed and forwarded to roadside where they were chipped directly into our walking floor lorries and removed from site. 680 ton of P45 woodchip was produced and removed from site, delivered in directly to BSL-accredited buyers. Additional 120 ton of stump material was removed and processed for composting.
• Second phase of the project was the pollarding of 50 Poplar trees alongside a dual carriageway. This required us to work with ecologists to pre-inspect over 10 potential bat roost locations prior to beginning work.
• After sign-off from the ecologists, we installed a full lane closure on the dual carriageway, using x2 lorry mounted 40m access platforms to remove the upper canopies of the Poplars before felling into the interior of the site.
• All brashside on roadside was chipped directly into our walking floor lorry with our Valtra tractor and crane fed biomass chipper. All debris felled internally was forwarded to an internal roadway and chipped and removed using the same method.

Outcome

1. Site clear of all marked trees and vegetation, ready for the next stage of the residential development.
2. All potential ecological risks mitigated successfully, with no ecological or planning breaches.
3. Roadside pollarding completing expediently and safely.