Integrating Trees With The Built Environment

The introduction of the revised BS 5837, in September 2005, was accompanied by its fair share of controversy and some people objecting to aspects of its content or elements that were not included. However, current British Standard has now been in use for nearly two years and we are really starting to feel its influence, with trees being considered in far greater detail and tis will only increase as we move into an era where the green space around new development is given greater and greater priority.

Meanwhile, the inevitable emphasis on water management solutions means that the green umbrella offered by trees will be of increasing importance, as we look at controlling the precipitation of rain through our urban environments and into the rivers that supply our drinking water. We may not be able to stop the kind of flooding that England has recently experienced, but this has highlighted the importance of water management as a planning issue.

The integration of trees with hard surfaces around high density urban development is an integral part of sustainable planning with an inclusive approach requiring consideration of a diverse range of design solutions. For example porous hard surfaces are an important part of water management, while also being an effective means of retaining trees on development sites where space is at a premium.

The revision of BS 5837 included consideration for 'Low-invasive Vehicular Access in Proximity to Trees' (11.8) and accepts the construction of hard surfaces with the root protection area (RPA) as unaviodable in some circumstances, with recommendations that 'a no-dig design should be used to avoid root loss due to excavation' and hard surfaces designed to ...........

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