As well as our commitment to good customer service and high quality arboricultural works as an organisation we are also fully committed to good health and safety management.

 Jon Franks proactively manages health and safety along with environmental good practice. He believes this is not just so Franks Forestry comply with UK legal requirements but that this is his moral duty as a responsible employer.

To help him manage this Jon uses an external consultant who specialises in arboricultural and forestry works.

 Our consultant, Martin Lennon of Arboricultural and Forestry Support Services, makes regular site inspections of our active work sites, throughout the year. He helps Jon manage the teams training requirements and monitors our health and safety related policies and procedures.

These independent and external inspections of our work operations helps us ensure our staff are trained and competent for the work operations and the specialist equipment we use. He also helps us ensure the teams have the necessary resources, skills and knowledge they need and working effectively and efficiently.

 More information about our consultant can be found at www.arb-forestry.com

 Although for obvious reasons Martin cannot be involved in our Arboricultural Association approved contractor assessments, he is a lead assessor for the Association.

The company accepts its statutory duties as regards health and safety and will ensure adequate resources are provided to make proper provision for the health, safety and welfare of its employees and the health and safety of others who may be affected by its work activities. It is, therefore, the policy of the company:

Franks Forestry Contractors
64 Dalkeith Road
Harpenden
Hertfordshire
AL5 5PW
01582 764 594

THE CONTRACTOR

The Contractor agrees to perform the work in a competent manner according to BS3998:2010 and in compliance to the specification and quotations contained in the estimate.

ALL CONTRACTS

All Contracts and instructions are accepted on the basis of payment of full invoice price within 15 days of the date of invoice

AMENDMENTS

Amendments to the Contract must be made in writing.

VALUE ADDED TAX

Where applicable, V.A.T. will be charged at the current rate.

COMPLAINTS

Any complaints which may arise from work performed under any Contract arising from acceptance of the estimate must be made within the period of seven days from the date of invoice, unless agreed in writing to the contrary.

INSURANCE COVER
All work carried out by the Contractor is covered by a Third Party and Public Liability Insurance of £10,000,000 for damage to persons or property that may result in the implementation of the Contract. Employment Liability Insurance of £10,000.000.

UNDERGROUND SERVICES
Unless a plan showing the exact location of underground pipes, wires or cables has been forwarded to us by the Owner of the land (or his agent) prior to the formation of the Contract, the Contractor shall be under no liability for the damage caused as a result of work performed under the Contract to such pipes, wires or cables, or for any damage to property resulting there from, and the Owner of the land or his agent shall be solely liable for any such damage.

POWERLINES OR TELEPHONE CABLES
Any charge for the removal of power lines or telephone cables to be the responsibility of the Owner, unless otherwise agreed in writing with the Contractor.

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PRUNING OF ESTABLISHING TREES
Pruning in order to promote good health and form in recently planted establishing trees. Carried out correctly, formative pruning can be the most effective means of pruning that a tree can recieve. It involves the early removal of potentially weak branches in order that a framework is developed, allowing the tree to mature with a more balanced and structurally sound crown. Correct pruning carried out on a tree in its formative years places significantly less stress on the specimen than if pruning is left until maturity.

CROWN CLEANING
Pruning to remove dead wood, diseased and dying wood, split or broken branches and crossing or rubbing branches.

CROWN THINNING
Pruning to remove branches as detailed in Crown Cleaning and the removal of further small diameter branches to obtain the required crown density. These branches will normally be below 5cm in diameter and spread evenly throughout the entire crown of the tree. Crown Thinning will not result in major alterations to the overall outline of the tree. The volume of the branches to be removed will normally be expressed as a percentage of the whole crown and should be considered as an approximate guideline only.

CROWN REDUCTION
Pruning to reduce the crown size in all directions to leave a balanced crown structure. It is a complete crown treatment and not just a reduction in height with no regard for the side branches. It is normally specified by the amount, in metres, that the crown is to be reduced by.

CROWN LIFTING
Pruning to remove the lowest branches which effectively increases the height of the main crown above the ground level. All the remaining branches will normally be above the height specified.

PRUNING OVERHANGING BRANCHES
Branches will be removed or pruned back to suitable replacements as specified. Overhead service wires will be cleared by at least 1m, walls by 2m and branches over buildings given at least 3m clearance, unless otherwise specified.

As part of our environmental policy we strive to run as a sustainable business and recycle through all aspects of our work.

Tree surgery generates large quantities of green waste such as woodchip and timber; we are currently recycling 95% of our waste and aim to increase this up to 100%. We are currently supplying large quantities of wood chip to biomass facilities throughout the UK, for the generation of minimum-carbon power plants utilized both in large-scale electricity generation and smaller, on-site industrial power plants.

We convert all hardwood timber into logs using our firewood processor, all timber is seasoned and ready to burn on open fires, log burners, Chimineas etc. and can be purchased and delivered.