Tree Inspection Services Nottingham
- NPTC-certified in aerial tree work, chainsaw operation and rigging, not just desk-based assessment
- Air spade root investigation that exposes root systems without cutting or damaging them
- £5,000,000 public liability cover on every inspection and every job that follows it
A tree doesn't usually fail without warning. Something changes first - fungus at the base, a lean that wasn't there last year, roots lifting a path, leaves that come out later than the tree next to it. Tree inspection services in Nottingham exist to catch that change before it becomes a fallen branch on a car or a headache on a mortgage survey. If you've already had a tree felled and want the tree removal done properly, or you're trying to work out whether a tree on your land needs to come down at all, an inspection is usually where that decision starts.
This isn't a call-centre operation - founder George runs it hands-on, from the first phone call through to standing at the base of the tree with you. Every inspection is carried out by NPTC-certified tree surgeons who also do the climbing, cutting, and rigging work themselves, so what you get is an opinion from someone who has actually taken trees like yours apart, not a desk-based risk score.
Inside a Visit: The Checks, the Air Spade, and the Written Record
- Above-ground visual assessment: crown density, deadwood, cavities, fungal brackets, bark damage, lean, and co-dominant stems prone to splitting
- Root system investigation using an air spade, which blows soil away with compressed air instead of digging, so root damage, rot, or girdling roots can be seen without cutting through them
- Checking roots against drains, foundations, patios, or boundary walls, and giving you an honest read on whether the tree is actually the cause or just a coincidence
- Disease and decay identification, including fungal fruiting bodies at the base or on the trunk that often signal internal rot
- A written record of what was found, in plain language, that you can hand to an insurer, a mortgage surveyor, or keep on file
- Advice on what happens next - monitoring, targeted pruning, root pruning, or felling - with a quote for that work if you want one there and then
Not Included / Costed Separately
- A formal BS5837 arboricultural survey with a tree constraints plan and Arboricultural Impact Assessment for planning applications - that's a specific consultancy document usually produced by a dedicated arboricultural consultant, and we'll say so plainly if that's what your planning application needs
- Resistograph or sonic tomography decay testing - specialist internal-decay tools that go beyond a visual and root inspection; if a tree looks like it needs one, we'll flag it and point you toward who can carry it out
- Structural engineering reports for subsidence claims - a root inspection can tell you what the roots are doing, but a full subsidence claim usually also needs a structural engineer's or loss adjuster's report
- Access to or work on trees you don't own or control, such as a council-owned street tree - we can inspect from your side of the boundary and write up what we see, but can't cut or treat a tree that isn't yours
From Your Phone Call to a Finding You Can Act On
- Call and describe the problem -- Tell us what you've noticed - a lean, fungus, dying branches, roots in a drain - and roughly where the tree is. That's usually enough to work out whether this needs a full root dig with the air spade or a straightforward visual check.
- Site visit -- George or one of the NPTC-certified team comes out, walks the site, and looks at the tree from the ground up - crown, trunk, root flare, and the surrounding ground for cracking, heave, or fungal growth.
- Root investigation if needed -- If roots are the concern, we bring the air spade and expose the root system without severing roots or disturbing what's underneath - drains, cables, foundations. You see exactly what we see.
- Findings, in plain terms -- You get a straight answer on what's happening with the tree, what's causing it, and how urgent it is - not a risk-matrix printout you need a translator for.
- Next steps, if any -- If the tree needs pruning, root pruning, or felling, we quote for it there and then. If it just needs monitoring, you'll be told what to watch for and when to call again.
Pricing a Visit: Free Call-Outs, Standalone Reports, and Root Digs
Across the UK, a basic domestic tree survey typically runs from around £295 up to £760, and a full planning package - survey plus constraints plan, impact assessment, and protection plan - can run from £400 to £1,500 or more, with an Arboricultural Impact Assessment adding roughly another £200 on top of a basic survey. Those figures are for formal planning-grade BS5837 documents, which is a different job to what most people calling us actually need. Most of our inspections are practical: a site visit to look at a specific tree, work out what's wrong with it, and tell you what it costs to fix. Where the inspection is the first step toward tree work we're doing anyway - pruning, root pruning, felling - the site visit is usually free and rolled into the quote. Where you need a standalone written report for an insurer, a solicitor, or your own peace of mind, or a full root dig with the air spade, that's priced separately depending on the tree, the access, and how much digging is involved. A proper figure needs eyes on the actual tree, so treat any number you see online, including the ones above, as a starting point for a conversation, not a quote.
Inspection or BS5837 Survey? How to Tell Which One You Need
| Our tree inspection | Formal BS5837 planning survey | |
|---|---|---|
| Who carries it out | NPTC-certified tree surgeons who also do the climbing and cutting | An arboricultural consultant, working to RICS/BS5837 methodology |
| Root investigation method | Air spade - exposes roots without cutting them | Usually visual only, unless a specialist dig is separately commissioned |
| What you receive | Plain-language findings plus a quote for any work needed | A formal report with a tree constraints plan, categorised trees, and protection zones |
| Typical use | Diagnosing a problem tree, insurance queries, drain or foundation concerns | Planning applications and local authority submissions |
| Follow-up work | Can prune, root-prune, or fell the same visit if agreed | Report only - any tree work is a separate instruction |
The Air Spade, the NPTC Tickets, and Why the Same Team Does Both
What actually gets read on site is narrower than it sounds: crown density and deadwood from the ground, the angle and history of a lean, fungal brackets at the base that flag rot before the trunk shows any outward sign of it, and, once the air spade clears the soil away, whether a root has girdled itself or a drain was already cracked before any root reached it. Getting that reading right depends less on a checklist and more on having stood inside a tree's canopy or knelt at its root flare enough times to know what's ordinary and what's a warning sign. That's where NPTC certification in aerial tree work, chainsaw operation, and rigging and controlled dismantling earns its keep on an inspection specifically: the person reading the crown is the same person who'd be sent up into it, and the person exposing root damage with the air spade is the same person who'd be called back to root-prune or fell if that's what the finding calls for. £5,000,000 public liability cover sits under all of that, air spade work near foundations and drains included, and George is still the one taking the first call and standing at the base of the tree with you, rather than sending a desk-based assessor out to write up a score.
Ground Conditions Across Nottinghamshire We Inspect Around
We're based at Long Eaton and treat Nottingham as our main patch, along with the surrounding county. In The Park Estate's conservation area, mature trees sit close to Victorian drainage and foundations, so root inspections there tend to focus as much on what's happening underground as on the crown. Out toward Ravenshead, on the edge of Sherwood Forest, the sandy, free-draining soil suits oak and pine but shows root stress differently to the heavier clay closer to the city centre. Near Attenborough, the nature reserve's wetland ground means willow and alder root systems that behave differently again, often more concerned with waterlogging than drought. Wollaton's parkland setting and West Bridgford's mature street trees bring a steady run of inspections tied to Tree Preservation Orders, where getting the assessment right before any work matters for planning reasons as much as tree health. We also cover Beeston, Bramcote, Edwalton, Gamston, Ruddington, Bingham, Arnold, Woodthorpe, Carlton, Mapperley, Hucknall, Southwell, Derby, and Mansfield.
Tree Inspection Questions, Answered Straight
Do I need a tree survey before applying for planning permission?
Often, yes, if there are trees on or near the site - most councils won't process an application without one. What you need at that point is usually a formal BS5837 survey with a tree constraints plan, which is a specific planning document produced by an arboricultural consultant. We can give you an honest read on the tree itself and point you toward that next step, but we'd rather say so upfront than take the job and hand you something your planning department won't accept.
What's the difference between a basic tree inspection and a full BS5837 survey?
A basic inspection is us looking at a specific tree, or a handful of trees, to answer a specific question: is it safe, is it dying, are the roots causing damage. A BS5837 survey is a wider planning document that categorises every tree on a development site, maps root protection areas, and feeds into a constraints plan the council will actually read. If you just want to know what's wrong with one tree in your garden, you don't need the second one.
How often should trees on my property be professionally inspected?
For an ordinary garden tree with no history of problems, once every couple of years is reasonable, or after any major storm. Older trees, trees near a house or a boundary, or trees that have already shown a warning sign - fungus, deadwood, a new lean - are worth checking more often, sometimes annually.
What does a tree risk assessment actually check for?
The crown for deadwood, cavities, and density; the trunk for cracks, cavities, and fungal brackets; the base and root flare for fungus, decay, or heave in the surrounding ground; and the roots themselves where drains, foundations, or paving are close enough to be a concern. It's a physical check, not a guess from the pavement.
Can a tree inspection tell me if a tree is dying or diseased?
Usually, yes - dieback in the crown, discoloured or sparse leaves, bark that's splitting or peeling, and fungal growth at the base are all visible signs we look for. Some internal decay, like fungi that rot the heartwood while the tree still looks healthy from outside, is harder to catch on a visual check alone and may need a specialist decay-detection tool such as a Resistograph, which we'll tell you honestly if we suspect.
Can a tree survey identify root damage to drains or foundations?
This is exactly what the air spade earns its keep for. It exposes the root system around the drain or foundation without cutting through roots or damaging what's underneath, so you can see whether roots are actually the cause of the crack or blockage, or whether something else is going on. A lot of drain damage blamed on tree roots turns out to be an already-cracked pipe that roots simply found their way into, not the other way round.
What happens if a tree inspection finds a hazardous tree on my land?
We'll tell you plainly how serious it is and what the options are - reducing the crown, removing specific limbs, root pruning, or felling if it's beyond saving. If there's an immediate risk, we'll say so rather than let you sit on a quote. Since we do the climbing and cutting ourselves, we can usually give you a price for the fix in the same visit.
If a council tree overhanging my Nottingham garden looks unsafe, can a private inspection report get the council to act?
It helps your case, even though the council makes its own decision. A written report from a proper inspection - what was found, why it's a concern, dated and specific - gives you something concrete to put in front of them instead of a phone call they can file and forget. It doesn't guarantee action, but a vague complaint gets nowhere and a documented one at least starts a proper record.
Could a tree inspection help settle a boundary dispute with a neighbour over a leaning or overhanging tree?
It can give both sides something factual to work from - whether the tree is actually unstable, which way it's realistically likely to fall, and whether the roots are encroaching underground as well as the branches overhead. It won't settle who's legally responsible for what, but a neutral, evidence-based inspection report takes a lot of the guesswork and temper out of that conversation.
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- NPTC-certified in aerial tree work, chainsaw operation and rigging, not just desk-based assessment
- Air spade root investigation that exposes root systems without cutting or damaging them
- £5,000,000 public liability cover on every inspection and every job that follows it
Or call 0115-647-2443
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Get the Tree Looked at Before It Becomes an Emergency
A fungal bracket at the base, a new lean, or roots lifting the path outside your window are all easier and cheaper to deal with before they turn into a storm-night phone call. Get in touch and describe what you've noticed - George will tell you honestly whether it needs a visit, and if it does, you'll get a straight answer on what's happening and what it costs to put right.
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