Tomos Trees Case Studies: Ash Dieback at Tower Hill, June 2023
Service: Tree Dismantling and Habitat Preservation
Client: Private client, Peter Kedward, from Fishguard, Pembrokeshire
The problem:
Peter called us to let us know that he had a large ash tree suffering from ash dieback. The main issue on this site was that it’s a very steep site. Tower Hill is an area of Fishguard which overlooks Lower Town and the ferry terminal in the distance, with a busy, winding main road below. The site of the tree meant that this project required sensitivity to the surrounding houses, as well as safety measures due to the proximity to traffic and pedestrians.
Our solution:
Tomos promptly visited the site and advised on the best solution, taking into account the owner’s needs and the best outcome for the tree and its environment. A written price was sent to Peter for approval, with the option to see any insurance details.
On the day, Tomos, Jackson, and David turned up on time and dismantled the tree, carefully lowering heavy pieces which had the potential to roll off down the steep slope. Most of the work was undertaken with battery chainsaws, keeping noise and air pollution to a minimum, while bigger cuts to the tree were made with modern alkalyte-fuelled chainsaws. For this particular site, we tried out a different form of rigging called a vertical speedline, which sped up the job whilst preventing large logs from rolling down the hill.
Other benefits of our work:
The small branch wood was piled up and left to rot down, providing a home for flora, fauna and funga. The main tree stem was left standing safely as a 3m monolith to provide yet more valuable habitat. A fair amount of firewood was stacked safely in manageable lengths for Peter to use, and the sawdust was cleared from the path, leaving a clean and tidy site.
Why Tomos Tree Services was right for the job:
Being local to this area, we were able to come out quickly to give Peter a full assessment of the work needed to deal with the ash dieback. We understood the challenges of the site due to other jobs undertaken in the steep areas around Fishguard and we had all the relevant equipment and expertise to deal with the situation safely and sensitively.