You will ordinarily by now have had a visit from a representative of your insurer who will have advised you on the nature of subsidence, carried out an inspection and have ordered site investigations. There is clearly the possibility that trees are a contributory cause to the building movements and our role at OCA is to review and report on the engineers initial diagnosis, to consider if tree works might stop the subsidence event and if the trees are controlled by a third party or covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) or are within a Conservation Area to obtain the appropriate approval such that works to trees can take place. Once it has been decided that tree works is an appropriate way forward we will assist in organising tree works from appropriately qualified tree work contractors. Once details of your claim have been passed to OCA we will seek to make an appointment with you via telephone or alternatively by post such as to allow one of our arboriculturists to visit with you and survey all trees. At the same time we will begin a search of local authority records to assess the likelihood of TPOs or Conservation Areas.
On the day of our preliminary visit our arboriculturists will wish to view both front and rear gardens to assess vegetation and so please, at the time of agreeing an appointment, make us aware of any special access arrangements if no one is to be at home. Once the survey is complete our arboriculturists will have a better grasp of which vegetation may be causing or contributing to subsidence and will always be willing to discuss their findings with you.
Please note that all OCA employees carry identification and will provide this upon request. Equally if you are in any way unsure then contact your local OCA office to confirm the identity of our employees (see contact button).
Trees, climbers and large shrubs all take water from clay soils each day to live and grow. However as the water leaves the soil the clay shrinks and foundations may move differentially. The key issue being, that only part of the building moves downwards leading to cracking. The reasons why trees cause cracks are now very well understood in scientific terms and it is clear that to promptly resolve your claim, tree felling may be needed once the cause has been established, however all of our trained staff appreciate that removing cherished trees can be difficult and therefore they will always help you consider replacement planting or other options. Regardless of the above we are not always free to carry out tree works because:
A neighbour owns the trees. In this instance we will negotiate with your neighbour such as to agree the works needed.
A local Council manages the trees. In this instance we will negotiate with the Council such as to agree the works needed.
The trees are covered by TPO or are within a Conservation Area. We will make any planning notifications or applications on your behalf.
The trees are on land of unknown ownership. OCA will do all legal searches such as to allow works to proceed.
Whatever the issue, if it is decided by the Claim team and by you that tree removal would allow repairs to take place quickly then OCA UK Limited will do everything it can to make this happen.
