Pruning, Branch Removal and Deadwooding
You are responsible for the trees in your garden and on your land (covered within the Occupiers and Owners Liability Act 1957 and 1984). You need to make sure your trees are not only healthy, but safe. Decayed or dead branches can break off unexpectedly so trees should be inspected and deadwooded when necessary to cover your duty of care.
There is a correct season for pruning and branch removal, which varies depending on the species. Formative pruning of young trees is essential to create a good branch structure. Correct pruning techniques at this stage help prevent decay.
In this photograph, the limbs on the right hand side of the tree were supporting too much end weight and were becoming a hazard to road traffic and pedestrians. We removed a proportion of the branch length, cutting back to smaller secondary branches. This reduced the risk of branch failure as well as maintaining a good overall, natural shape to the tree.