We were approached by a client in Morningside, Edinburgh who was concerned about significant decay within a large Poplar growing alongside their property. The tree was heavily weighted over a busy road and bus route close to a junction, making its condition and location a particular concern.
Following assessment, complete removal of the tree was considered necessary. Due to the extent of the decay, conventional climbing and dismantling was not considered an appropriate method. The site also presented several significant targets, including the public road, street lighting, garden fences and a garage.
Mechanised removal using a grapple saw
We opted to dismantle the Poplar using a Roto telehandler fitted with a grapple saw. This allowed sections of the crown and stem to be safely cut and controlled mechanically without requiring a climber to work within the compromised parts of the tree.
The Roto was supported by our skid steer, tracked woodchipper and large tractor with crane(see tractor and crane hire page), allowing material to be processed and removed efficiently as the dismantle progressed.
Once the tree had been reduced to the larger sections of stem, a climber was used in conjunction with the Roto telehandler to sling and lower the remaining timber safely.
Rather than removing all of the usable wood from site, the larger timber was cut into manageable lengths and stacked neatly beside the client’s garage for future use as firewood.
Working around a busy Edinburgh bus route
Because of the tree’s position immediately adjacent to the road, a road closure was required to undertake the work safely. When permission was sought, the council stipulated that the work should take place on a Sunday to minimise disruption to traffic and the local bus route.
This allowed us to establish a controlled working area around the tree while keeping disruption to local residents and road users to a minimum. Regularly carrying out tree surgery in Edinburgh, we are familiar with the particular challenges of working across the city, including restricted access, busy roads, traffic management requirements and the permissions needed when undertaking complex tree work in urban locations.
Wildlife considerations
The timing of the work also meant that nesting birds had to be considered. Prior to undertaking the removal, we obtained the appropriate licence from NatureScot covering the relocation or destruction of nests of species not listed on Schedule 1, where permitted under the terms of the licence.
Planning this in advance reduced the possibility of the works having to be abandoned should an active nest be encountered and ensured the work could proceed in accordance with the relevant wildlife legislation and licence conditions.
The combination of careful planning, specialist machinery, traffic management and wildlife considerations allowed this large and potentially hazardous tree to be dismantled safely and efficiently in a challenging urban location.
