What Is Timber Felling?

Why Is Timber Felling Sometimes Necessary?

Next to “What is timber felling?”, “Why is timber felling necessary?” is one of the most commonly asked questions about this particular topic. Most people are keen to protect and care for the trees on their land as they offer a number of important benefits, such as reducing local air pollution, providing shade in the summer and offering year-round shelter to all manner of wildlife. However, there are situations in which there may be no other practical alternative to tree felling, such as the following:

• Sound Woodland Management – Selective felling of trees in heavily wooded areas can encourage greater diversity of flora and more vigorous growth of remaining specimens. Whilst it may sound counterintuitive, cutting down trees can sometimes be good for the environment.
• Protection of Vulnerable Buildings – In cases where trees are threatening the structural integrity of nearby buildings, felling them is often the only practical solution. Sometimes extensive pruning may resolve the issue but if not, cutting down the trees in question will have to be considered.
• Preventing Disruptions to Rail Services – Large trees growing in close proximity to railway lines have the potential to cause major disruption to local services, especially in stormy weather with gale-force winds. When such trees cannot be effectively tamed with pruning procedures, they must be removed.
• Damage to Utility Lines – Overhead electricity cables can be taken out by nearby trees in high winds, which is why such trees often need to be cut down. As with those growing close to railway lines, whilst it may sometimes be possible to resolve the problem with extensive pruning, felling is often the most economical and practical solution.
• Personal Safety – Trees that have become unstable, either due to damage or disease, may pose a risk to people in their vicinity. In such cases, the only sensible solution is to fell the trees and remove them from the land. It is especially important to fell unstable trees growing in areas that are frequented by many people, such as public parks, gardens in schools, gardens next to public buildings and children’s playgrounds.

It is often necessary for timber felling to be carried out as a matter of urgency in all other situations where trees pose a danger to persons or property. If you need to have one or more trees on your land felled, read on to find out what to do next.