An Arboricultural Impact Assessment that connects your proposed development with the trees it could affect.
ACP reviews the layout, construction requirements and tree evidence together. We identify conflicts, examine practical design responses and prepare a clear account of the proposal’s arboricultural implications.
Proposal-specific impact assessmentDesign conflicts made clearRetention & mitigation coordinatedReports linked to current drawings
READ THE SITE. DEFINE THE NEXT STEP.
Assess the whole scheme, not just the building outline.Access, services and working space can change the impact on retained trees.Left: an illustrative access and service conflict. Right: an alternative route to investigate. Neither is an approved construction design.
From baseline to proposal
What does the impact assessment need to resolve?
An AIA explains the relationship between an actual proposal and the relevant trees. Start with the current survey, drawings and planning request so the assessment answers the right question.
01 / NEW SUBMISSION
Support the planning application
Assess the proposed development and identify retention, removal, works and protective measures relevant to the submission.
The assessment should follow the works from demolition and access through construction to the completed development. We identify the relevant interfaces and the design information needed to evaluate them.
Design interface
What we review
What the project team needs to resolve
Buildings and excavation
The proposed footprint, working space and available foundation information.
Whether the layout and construction assumptions can be coordinated with retained trees.
Access and temporary logistics
Delivery routes, compounds, lifting arrangements and practical space for construction.
How the scheme can be built without relying on unassessed access or storage areas.
Drainage and utilities
Routes, connection points and the excavation or installation methods proposed.
Potential conflicts that may sit outside the main building footprint.
Levels and surfacing
Changes to existing levels, hard surfaces and relevant ground conditions.
The implications for rooting space and the detail needed to assess any proposed solution.
Crowns and future relationships
Branch clearance, growth and relationships with buildings and occupied spaces.
Whether the design creates pressure for repeated pruning or later tree loss.
Retention, loss and planting
Which trees would remain, be removed or require works, and why.
A consistent design response with landscape and biodiversity proposals.
We work from the current drawing set and record what has been assessed. Where there is a conflict, the report should explain the response rather than leave it hidden in a plan overlay.
01 / Confirm the baseline and drawing setCheck the tree schedule, survey plan, site changes and proposal revisions. Identify any missing coverage or data that could affect the assessment.
02 / Identify direct and indirect effectsReview the proposed works and their construction requirements. Distinguish tree loss, works to retained trees and other potential effects on their future condition.
03 / Discuss the design responseConsider changes to layout or operation first where practical. Coordinate any specialist construction proposal with the relevant designer and arboricultural evidence.
04 / Explain the residual positionSet out the resulting impacts, mitigation, dependencies and further detail needed. Keep the tree numbers and drawing revisions consistent throughout the submission.
A practical assessment, not a drawing stamp
Understand what the evidence supports.
The AIA should make the reasoning easy for the client, designer and reviewing officer to follow. Its conclusions need to stay connected to the actual information assessed.
Tree categories inform the assessment
The survey category helps describe retention value. It is considered with the tree’s context, constraints and the proposed works.
A category alone does not authorise removal or decide the planning outcome.
RPA conflicts need a reasoned response
Where the proposal affects rooting space, assess the specific interface and available alternatives. Record the evidence needed for any specialist construction approach.
Engineering design and arboricultural review must work together; moving a protection outline is not a design justification.
Ancient and veteran trees need care
Identify these features early and assess the relevant standing advice and wider effects. Their protection should not be treated as an ordinary survey constraint.
Describe replacement or new planting where it forms part of the response. Align it with the landscape design, available growing space and relevant biodiversity evidence.
The AIA should make any unresolved design dependency explicit.
Illustrative design coordination
The building fits. The service route needs another look.
A proposal places a building outside the illustrated rooting constraint, but the proposed connection route crosses it. The AIA brief needs to examine both elements.
01 / IDENTIFY
Record the conflict
Use the same tree references and base plan to show where the route interacts with the constraint. Confirm the depth and method information needed.
02 / COORDINATE
Explore a different route
Discuss available alternatives with the designer. Check whether the revised route creates another issue with access, levels or neighbouring trees.
03 / DOCUMENT
Update the assessment
Record the chosen proposal and any design conditions, further investigation or construction-method detail needed. Keep the AIA aligned with the drawings.
A connected submission
What your AIA package can include.
The agreed scope identifies the assessment report, supporting plans and design-response work. We clarify whether new survey information or later construction documents are included.
The proposal being assessedA clear record of the site, development description and drawing revisions.
The relevant tree baselineSurvey information relied upon, with any limitations or update requirements identified.
Retention, removal and worksAn explicit schedule or plan explaining the proposed treatment of relevant trees.
Impact analysisThe development interfaces, effects and assessment reasoning for the scheme.
Mitigation and dependenciesDesign responses, protection principles and further detail required to support implementation.
A clear onward briefAny method statement, protection plan, investigation or authority-response work needed next.
An AIA depends on the complexity of the tree interactions and how much coordination is needed. We review the available information before confirming the fee and programme.
The drawing packageProvide the layout and relevant demolition, levels, access, drainage and landscape drawings where available. Identify their current revisions.
The tree evidenceSend the survey schedule and plan, with any earlier AIA or council comments. We check what can support the current assessment.
The agreed supportConfirm the design iterations, meetings, authority responses and later protection documents included. Further changes are considered against that scope.
England · your site and authority
Advice shaped around the project.
Discuss projects in Greater London, the South East, East of England and the Midlands, or elsewhere in England. Share the site postcode and council request so we can confirm the scope, survey arrangements and availability.
Local requirements, current drawings
We identify the planning authority and review its actual request. A county name does not establish which documents or conditions apply to a site.
One coordinated project brief
Bring the architect’s layout, engineering information and relevant ecology work together. Agree the assessment boundaries, access and responsibilities before commissioning.
Connected evidence
The right document for the next decision.
Survey, assessment and construction protection can be commissioned together or in defined stages. Choose the part of the brief you need.
01 / NEXT PROJECT STAGE
BS5837 tree surveys
Establish the baseline and constraints for design.
A short description of the design and the council’s request helps us define a useful assessment.
01What is an Arboricultural Impact Assessment?
It examines the effects of a proposed development on relevant trees and explains how the design responds. It uses the tree baseline alongside the actual works and drawings.
02Is “arboricultural implications assessment” the same service?
The wording is sometimes used for a similar planning purpose. We check the required deliverables and the authority’s request so the commission answers the correct question.
03Can the AIA be prepared before the design is final?
An assessment can support design development. The quotation should define the proposal stage and review iterations, then identify the final drawing set for the submission.
04Can you use another consultant’s tree survey?
We can review the available survey, its scope and currency. If it is suitable for the current proposal, the quotation can identify how it will be used and any information requiring update.
05Does an AIA include the Tree Protection Plan?
It may be part of a combined package, but the documents have different functions. We state explicitly which plans, method statements and construction details are included.
06What if we need to work within an RPA?
We assess the specific issue, alternatives and information needed. Any proposed specialist solution requires appropriate arboricultural and engineering input and relevant approval; feasibility is not assumed.
07Will the assessment guarantee permission?
The planning authority determines the proposal. The AIA provides a reasoned account of the impacts and design response, with limitations and outstanding matters made clear.
08Does the report replace structural or ecological advice?
No. Where foundations, protected species or habitat effects need specialist input, those scopes should be coordinated with the arboricultural assessment. We identify relevant interfaces in the brief.
Let’s define the right scope
Tell us where your project is heading.
Start with your email and a short project outline. We will clarify the information needed and prepare a site-specific quotation.
Share the essentials
Your site, proposed works and the tree information requested.
We review the available evidence
A consultant can request the current layout, tree reports and council comments.
Receive a defined scope and fee
Understand the deliverables, programme and any additional work.
Have drawings, a tree report or a planning condition? Submit the enquiry first. We can then request the relevant files together, so your brief stays clear.
Request an arboricultural quotation
A clear starting point.
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Technical sources & further reading
Sources checked on 27 October 2026. BSI lists BS 5837:2012 as current and under review. Local authority examples illustrate the document types; the actual authority’s current requirements must be checked for your site.
