Tree pruning schedule and tree strategy

Southwark Council will undertake a basic visual inspection for all trees every three to five years on a rolling basis to check for defects which may be hazardous. More detailed surveys are then undertaken to allow for maintenance work to be prioritised, issued and scheduled.

Southwark does not currently have a fixed maintenance cycle for trees other than a small number of trees identified as an insurance risk. The Council intends to undertake a full survey of all directly managed trees over the next 3 years including Highways, Housing and Parks. This would allow the Tree Team to identify priority trees, determine an appropriate cyclical maintenance regime and increased planned maintenance programmes.

Before each pruning cycle, trees are surveyed to determine any change in size, safety hazard and the type of pruning treatment required. The degree to which each tree is pruned is decided by the size, species, location and previous pruning history.

The overall benefits of trees have to be measured against their potential inconvenience to residents. The tree maintenance programme takes account of this by removing overhanging limbs and by thinning and reducing the size of trees wherever necessary. We make sure that any works to trees are always in accordance with best arboricultural practices.

View our annual maintenance schedule.