1. We are WSP in the UK
  2. What We Do
  3. Services
  4. Arboriculture and Forestry

Arboriculture and Forestry

In the congested built environment, the arboriculture team find space for trees, optimising retention and protection, whilst recognising that tree removal can sometimes be the best solution.

Wherever trees are growing they provide both public and private benefits and risks. Trees are dynamic and need regular inspection and management to realise opportunities or minimise threats. Our experts unravel complex trade-offs between costs and benefits to deliver the right tree for the right place.

Supporting urban tree managers

We present options where trees interact negatively with existing buildings or utilities and plan new developments around retained arboricultural features. Our team produce detailed tree protection plans and specifications for excavation and construction close to trees. We specify incorporation of additional trees into the urban environment, including integration with sustainable urban drainage schemes.

Working with rural land managers

Our forestry services focus on unscheduled interventions, rather than planned management over the forest rotation. Our team collaborates, at the outset, with other disciplines to optimise route selection. Timber quantification is applied to harvesting plans and includes subsequent recommendations for mitigation planting or forest restocking. Our management recommendations extend to wildlife management, carbon storage or floodwater regulation.

Complying with the law

Our tree experts ensure that tree owners discharge their legal responsibilities around Tree Preservation Orders and trees in Conservation Areas. We advise on legal restrictions on the felling of trees, whether in public or private ownership.

We’re planning for the future

Many of the projects we work on have long lives and will be in operation for many years to come. Future Ready thinking is about giving our engineers back their Brunel. Challenging all our teams to see the future more clearly and design for this today. Our team are currently exploring how we can use remotely sensed data to monitor the progression of tree diseases at the landscape scale. The data will inform decisions around safety, biodiversity and the amenity role of trees in the countryside.

[Projects]