This large ash tree beside a main road in Oxford was felled in sections by our expert team this week. The tree was becoming unsafe with die-back and large dead limbs throughout much of the crown. As it was growing beside a main road we obtained consent from Oxfordshire Highways to close one lane, using temporary traffic lights to create a safe working space.
The upper crown was carefully dismantled using a lowering system to bring the cut sections down to the ground in a safe and controlled manner, keeping everything within the coned off working area.
We used our mobile elevated work platform (MEWP), otherwise known as a cherry picker to access the tree safely and efficiently. Once the crown was removed we were left with the main stem of the tree. The MEWP is the safest way to access the tree and we always opt for this over climbing with rope and harness as it greatly reduces risk to our operators and maintains compliance with the Working at Height Regs, 2005.
Our trained tree surgeon, Ben Marsh, took the stem down in blocks which were carefully landed in a drop zone at the base of the tree, without damage to the various garden, path and fencing below.
The timber is picked up with our Avant loader which saves time and labour is well as reducing manual handling. Tree work is heavy and physically demanding work. As company policy we always use machinery for lifting where we can. This helps reduce physical injuries that can result from manual handling.
This large Ash tree was safely removed and cleared within a working day with minimal disturbance to the garden and street below.
