Historically, the management of Staffordshire County Council’s tree stock was approached on an ad hoc basis, primarily addressed during major works or as a reactive response to specific issues. Tree inspections weren’t routinely carried out for the 500,000 highway trees, and residents’ and road users’ expectations were low.
With rising interest in environmental measures, pressured budgets, increased legislation and a better-informed society, tree management became a far more complex challenge.
The KaarbonTech ‘Software, Advisory, and Surveying’ approach was implemented. Initially tasked with surveying 71,000 trees along B roads, this was part of a long-term relationship aimed at creating a full tree inventory and ongoing cyclical surveying.
Staffordshire County Council only had a small inventory (approximately 8,000) of A road trees. We integrated risk assessments with open-source rainfall data from the Environment Agency to build a comprehensive overview of each tree, using our Tree SMART solution for ease of viewing and monitoring.
Using LiDAR surveying, we created an inventory of 71,000 trees within falling distance of highways for the first phase, including all B roads, town centres, and priority hotspots. Phase 2 focused on surveying A road trees, which we are close to completing. We are now scoping Phase 3, which involves surveying C roads and revisiting defects from A/B roads as part of the Tree Risk Management Proposal. This plan includes surveying for inventory alongside a programmed schedule of revisits for the existing inventory. Phase 3 is expected to take about 18 months with Phase 4, which covers U roads, continuing for an additional 18 months.
Increasing the knowledge of tree stock ensures that vital plans can be drawn up, influencing tree planting, sustainability plans, and managing the risk of tree fall. Awareness of the trees within any local authority allows for evidence-based bids for funding and ensures cost-effective programming and management. Collecting a complete inventory is essential, reflecting the responsibility of the landowner and the need to avoid litigation. All this feeds into the risk-based approach we’ve taken when designing the proposal.
Tree stock management software like Tree SMART monitors and manages risk, quantifying the scale of vulnerable trees and presenting the most effective methods to minimise this risk. As part of future health, we’re also looking into complementary research, notably Ash Dieback, to predict its likely spread across the county over the coming years. This involves identifying hardy trees for repopulation and planning works ahead of schedule to reduce spread, such as cutting down a ‘barrier’ area to prevent further spread.
"KaarbonTech's support propels Staffordshire Highways in effective data-driven asset management, including highway trees.
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