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British Standard 5837 Response to the consultation

Author:  Emma Gilmartin
  14/11/2024
Last Updated:  14/11/2024

Many of you will be aware that the British Standard 5837 ‘Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction’ has been revisited by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and a drafting panel. The 2012 standard is soon to be superseded and, given the importance of 5837 surveys as bread-and-butter work for many arboriculturists, this change will have a significant impact on our industry.

Between issues of the ARB Magazine, a two-month public consultation on the new draft standard was opened and closed. Thanks are due to Howard Booth for hosting two sessions at our annual Conference in September, where he presented to attendees some details about the new draft which, by then, had been launched. As convenor of the drafting panel, Howard summarised some of the key proposed changes in the new draft and a rationale for them. This summary was later circulated online to members and can be found here

The Association requested an extension to the consultation period but was not able to secure one. We felt a longer timescale was necessary to allow a constructive and inclusive dialogue with you, our members. Instead, we were able to establish a small working group which met a few times over two months. This group helped to focus us on the most important issues, and we thank those who gave us their valuable time and support.

It was generally agreed that the draft standard is very prescriptive in some areas but unhelpfully light in others. However, and as we might expect from our industry, there were genuine disagreements within the working group on numerous aspects, so it is clear some will feel that they haven’t got what they wanted from the new standard when it arrives.

In order to submit a response from the Association we, the technical team, also reviewed the draft and met to compare notes with counterparts in several partner organisations. Finally, we reflected upon the many public comments (almost 2,000 of them) submitted and available to view on the BSI website.

The role of the arboriculturist is to help all other parties to maximise the benefits of trees in a development context. The BS 5837 is an important document; it is crucial for getting the best out of arboriculturists in a difficult environment, helping to see them recognised and valued for their contributions.

We hope the new standard will fully meet the brief. The consultation ended on 16th October, and we understand the publication is due in spring 2025.