If you are dealing with trees near a home, boundary, access route, or a building project, it can quickly become stressful. Many people worry about doing the wrong thing, facing objections, or triggering a neighbour dispute. Others are concerned about safety, or about whether a tree could be linked to property damage.
Planning adds another layer of pressure. A straightforward extension can be held up when the council asks for specific arboricultural documents. Conditions can be applied after permission is granted, and if the tree information is unclear, you can end up with repeated queries and avoidable delays. This uncertainty is often the hardest part, especially when you have builders, designers, or deadlines in motion.
MDJ Arboricultural Consultancy helps homeowners, project teams, and property managers move forward by providing clear answers, site-based evidence, and council-ready documentation where needed, focusing on practical next steps that fit your situation.
An arboricultural consultant is there to help you make informed decisions about trees. In plain English, that means inspecting trees, explaining what the findings mean, and setting out realistic options for what can be done next.
Where other parties are involved, such as a council, an insurer, or a design team, an arboricultural consultant also provides written reports and plans. These documents help others understand constraints, risks, and appropriate actions, so decisions are based on evidence rather than opinion.
Only after that plain-English work is done do technical standards come into play. For example, where development is involved, surveys and planning documents may follow BS5837:2012 principles and local planning authority validation requirements. For safety decisions, assessments may follow recognised approaches such as Visual Tree Assessment and ISA Tree Risk frameworks.
This service is designed for people who need clarity and defensible documentation when trees become a decision point.
Common client groups include:
Homeowners who need to understand what they can do, particularly where protection, neighbour concerns, safety worries, or property damage questions exist.
Landlords and managing agents who need consistent records and clear recommendations for tenant safety and property protection.
Developers, architects, and planning consultants who need tree inputs for feasibility, layout decisions, and planning submissions.
Commercial property managers, estates, schools, and housing associations managing duty of care and tree stock at scale.
Anyone dealing with councils, insurers, or protected trees, where the difference between progress and delay is often whether the evidence is clear and presented in the right format.
You are planning an extension, new access, or site changes and trees may constrain the layout or programme.
A planning submission requires arboricultural documents from the validation list.
Planning permission has been granted but conditions require a method statement or protection details before work starts.
You have been told a tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order, or may be in a conservation area, and you need clear guidance on what is allowed.
A neighbour has raised concerns and you want an independent, evidence-led opinion to reduce conflict.
You are responsible for trees near places people regularly use and need a structured approach to duty of care.
You have cracking or movement and need arboricultural input as part of a wider subsidence or building damage process, often led by an insurer.
You manage a site with many trees and need a repeatable system for prioritising works and keeping records.
The scope depends on what you are trying to achieve and what another party has asked for. MDJAC’s approach typically follows a clear sequence, so you know what is happening and why.
Depending on your situation, it may include:
Initial triage to understand the issue, your goal, and any council or insurer requirements.
Site visit and data collection, proportionate to the job, including staged support for development projects.
Trees and development support aligned to BS5837:2012, producing the documents local planning authorities commonly request.
Tree risk assessment surveys aligned to recognised frameworks, with options for full inventories or negative reporting, depending on what is appropriate.
Tree Preservation Order support, including acting as an agent with the local planning authority, advising on likely acceptable works, and managing applications and appeals where relevant.
Trees and subsidence or building damage input, from preliminary advice through to insurer-led assessments where instructed, using wider evidence such as monitoring and ground conditions.
Woodland management plans where a wider, long-term approach is needed for woodland or larger tree groups.
You should finish the process with clear documentation and a confident path forward.
Typical outputs include:
A written report that explains findings in plain English, supported by the level of technical detail your situation demands.
Council-ready planning documents, where required, such as an Arboricultural Impact Assessment, a Tree Protection Plan (often as a CAD overlay), and an Arboricultural Method Statement for protecting retained trees during construction.
Risk assessment documentation with prioritised recommendations, helping you manage duty of care and liability sensibly.
Clear next steps, so you know what to do now, what can wait, and what to share with your designer, contractor, council, or insurer.
When trees are holding up decisions, you need more than a generic report. MDJAC’s work is built around helping you make progress with clear, evidence-led advice, and documentation that fits the real-world process you are dealing with.
MDJAC’s trees and development service is explicitly built around BS5837:2012 and local planning authority validation requirements, so the tree information is structured in the way councils expect.
Benefit for you
Fewer avoidable delays caused by missing or unclear arboricultural information
A clearer path through conditions and technical queries
Early, staged input to support design decisions and improve chances of a smoother planning process
MDJAC’s approach is built to be easy to understand and simple to enact, with advice grounded in real site constraints. The strategy and on-site proof points emphasise practical, responsive support rather than jargon-led reporting.
Benefit for you
Less confusion and fewer assumptions
Recommendations that are realistic for access, sequencing, and site limitations
A calmer decision-making process when there are competing priorities
For duty of care, you need a defendable method that is proportionate. MDJAC provides risk assessments aligned to ISA Tree Risk and Visual Tree Assessment frameworks, with options for a full inventory or negative reporting, depending on what best fits your site and responsibilities.
Benefit for you
Clear priorities that help you manage risk and budgets sensibly
Better records for governance, audits, or responding to complaints
Scalable delivery for large tree populations, including trackable management approaches where appropriate
Where professional credibility matters, for example when your report may be reviewed by a council or insurer, MDJAC’s lead consultant Matt has formal arboriculture qualifications and professional memberships, including Professional Member of the Arboricultural Association, Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Foresters, and PTI accreditation, with previous ISA TRAQ completion noted.
Local insight that saves time
Horsham’s busy centre around The Carfax, Piries Place and Swan Walk demands smart scheduling to minimise disruption. Parking, deliveries and pedestrian routes shape how tree work is planned. Sites near Horsham Park and the River Arun require careful consideration of public use, habitat features and utilities. Developments around Broadbridge Heath and along the A24 and A264 benefit from early root protection planning and contractor briefings that keep construction moving. You get advice aligned to Horsham District validation requirements and on the ground realities, which means fewer clarification requests and faster progress.
As an independent consultancy, we act in your best interests. Your project benefits from 13 years of practical arboricultural experience, membership of respected professional bodies and complete alignment with BS5837:2012. From single tree assessments to complex, multi plot developments, you receive the same attention to detail and friendly, prompt communication.
Professional memberships and qualifications
Do I need an arboricultural consultant or a tree surgeon?
A tree surgeon carries out physical tree work. An arboricultural consultant inspects trees, advises on options, and produces reports and plans that councils, insurers, or project teams may require. If planning, protection, subsidence, or duty of care is part of the picture, a consultant is usually the right place to start.
What arboricultural reports are typically needed for planning in Horsham?
It depends on the site and what the council requests. For development work, common documents include an Arboricultural Impact Assessment and Tree Protection Plan, with an Arboricultural Method Statement where construction impacts need to be managed.
Can you help if a tree has a Tree Preservation Order?
Yes. Support can include advising what works are likely to be acceptable, submitting and managing applications, and liaising with the local planning authority where appropriate.
Will the council accept the report?
No consultant can guarantee an outcome. What you can do is reduce risk by ensuring surveys, documents, and recommendations follow recognised standards and match local planning authority expectations for format and content.
I’m worried a tree is unsafe. What happens in a risk assessment?
A site visit is used to assess the tree and its surroundings, then the findings are recorded in a structured way with recommendations and priorities. The aim is to help you act proportionately and keep a clear record of decision-making.
Can you support subsidence or building damage investigations?
Yes, where instructed. This can include preliminary advice or insurer-led assessments that consider wider evidence such as monitoring and ground conditions, then provide proportionate vegetation management recommendations.