In a culture that has become increasingly litigious in the last couple of decades the importance of arboricultural surveys has never been greater. Therefore with ownership comes responsibility and there is a duty of care on the owners of trees to do what is reasonable in terms of managing the risk of trees where there is some. Firstly, what is an arboricultural survey? 

Essentially it is a fairly broad term used to describe various types of inspections carried out in relation to trees. These can include assessments of health; condition; impact of proposed building work; visual amenity; hazard; risk management; building damage investigation; damage risk prediction for buildings; routine management; habitat for wildlife or ecological assesment. Surveys may cover a range of factors either in detail or at a relatively superficial level, or may focus on one or two particular matters. The scope and focus of every survey will vary depending on the clients needs and objectives.