Glasgow's Arborist Service Specialists Since 2005
Arborist Service Glasgow
✓ Trading since 2005✓ BS3998 standard✓ Fully insured✓ Free quotes
Trading Since 2005
BS3998 Standard
Fully Insured
Free, No-Obligation Quotes
Introduction
An arborist's job starts before any saw comes out: reading what's happening inside and above a tree - decay, deadwood, root health, structural stability - and setting that down in writing, whether you need a tree survey ahead of a house sale, a BS5837 report for a planning application, or a straight answer on whether a leaning tree is safe to leave over winter. This page covers that assessment and reporting side specifically - the site visit, the written findings, the TPO check - rather than the felling, crown reduction or pruning a report might recommend, which is covered on our tree surgery page.
Glasgow Trees has traded under that name since 2005, and because the same team carries out both the assessment and, where needed, the physical work, a report doesn't leave you needing to brief a second contractor. Assessments are carried out to British Standard BS3998, and where a property sits under a Tree Preservation Order or within a conservation area, that's checked before any work is agreed, not after. Free, no-obligation quotes are available across Glasgow and the council areas covered below.
Key Selling Points
- Trading as Glasgow's tree surgery specialists since 2005
- NPTC Professional Tree Inspection qualified, working to British Standard BS3998
- Free, no-obligation quotes
What an arborist assessment covers - and what it doesn't
- Site visit and visual tree assessment - checking for decay, deadwood, cavities, lean and root plate movement
- Written condition report setting out findings and recommendations for each tree assessed
- BS5837 pre-development surveys for planning applications, including a root protection area plan
- Tree Preservation Order and conservation area status checks before any work is agreed
- Retention-versus-removal advice for house sales, mortgage lenders or insurance purposes
- Assessment of veteran or champion trees, where internal decay and cavity risk need a different read than a young garden tree
Not Included / Costed Separately
- The physical tree work itself - felling, crown reduction, pruning, hedge cutting, stump grinding - sits on our tree surgery page and is arranged as a separate job once a report is agreed
- Cutting on or near live overhead power lines - live-line training is still in progress within the team, so the network operator or a dead-lined conductor is needed first
- Legal advice on boundary disputes - our report can support your case but doesn't replace a solicitor on the boundary question itself
- Rope-access or aerial climbing inspection as standard - flagged and quoted separately if a specific tree needs it
How an inspection or survey actually runs, from enquiry to report
- Initial enquiry: You describe the tree and the concern - a leaning specimen, a planning application, a mortgage lender's request - so we can tell whether a single tree inspection or a fuller BS5837-style survey fits the job.
- Site visit and visual assessment: We walk the site and check the tree or trees from ground level for decay, deadwood, cavities, lean and root plate movement, noting access, TPO status and any conservation area boundary.
- On-site discussion: Findings are talked through where possible before we leave - what's safe to leave, what needs monitoring, and whether removal or reduction is even likely to feature in the recommendations.
- Written report: The report sets out the condition of each tree assessed, any TPO or conservation constraint, and clear recommendations - for a BS5837 job this includes a root protection area plan for the planning file.
- Follow-on work, if needed: Where the report recommends physical work, the same team can quote for it separately - felling, crown reduction, stump grinding - rather than handing you off to another contractor.
What an inspection, survey or TPO check costs
Pricing for assessment work depends on what's being assessed rather than a flat rate: a single tree inspection for a worried homeowner is a different job from a multi-tree BS5837 survey covering an entire development site, and travel factors in for sites further out along the M8, M74, M77 and M80 corridors. A TPO or conservation area check is usually folded into the same visit rather than charged on top. Once the number of trees involved, the reason for the report, and any deadline - a planning submission date, for instance - are clear, we give a free, no-obligation quote, but a firm price still needs a site visit rather than a phone estimate, since access and the number of trees to assess both affect the time it takes.
What a qualified arborist assessment gives you that a general opinion can't
| What matters | Glasgow Trees arborist assessment | General handyman or unqualified opinion |
|---|---|---|
| Insurance | Fully insured tree surgeons | Often no liability cover for tree advice |
| Technical standard | Assessments carried out to British Standard BS3998 | No recognised standard applied |
| Inspection qualification | NPTC Professional Tree Inspection qualified | No formal tree inspection qualification |
| Protected tree checks | Checked for TPO and conservation area status before work is agreed | May not be checked, risking a penalty |
| Follow-on work | Same team can quote for any recommended felling, reduction or stump work | Referral to a separate contractor, if any |
An inspection qualification, not just a trade certificate
Part of the Glasgow Trees team holds the NPTC Professional Tree Inspection qualification specifically - a different ticket from the chainsaw and rigging certificates that cover physical tree work, and the one that matters when a report needs to stand up to a mortgage lender, an insurer, or a council TPO decision. That inspection background shapes how a survey gets written: which symptoms get flagged as monitor-only versus urgent, and when a visual check needs backing up with something more, such as resistance drilling on a veteran tree with a suspected internal cavity. On a BS5837 job that same discipline carries through to the paperwork itself - each retained tree gets a stem diameter measurement, a condition category and a root protection area worked out from that diameter, plotted against a scaled site plan rather than sketched as a rough circle round the canopy, so a planning officer can check the report against the actual tree on site rather than take a paragraph of prose on trust. Species knowledge on the team runs from native Scots pine to exotic monkey puzzle trees, which matters when a survey needs to flag a species-specific issue - a monkey puzzle's brittle, heavy branch structure, say - rather than treat every tree on a plan the same way.
Where we carry out inspections and surveys, from Glasgow to the M8, M74, M77 and M80 towns
Most inspection and survey work happens in Glasgow itself and the towns along the M8, M74, M77 and M80 - Renfrew, Clydebank, Paisley, Rutherglen, Cambuslang, Bishopbriggs, Bearsden and Milngavie all sit within normal travel range for a site visit, as do Giffnock, Clarkston, Newton Mearns and Barrhead on the south side. Further out, we cover Lanarkshire towns including Hamilton, Blantyre, Bothwell and East Kilbride, plus Renfrewshire and Inverclyde as far as Johnstone and Greenock. Along the A82 corridor towards Loch Lomond, Strathblane, Killearn, Balfron and Fintry bring a different assessment problem - gardens backing onto open hillside, where a tree is as likely to need a windblow stability check as a routine health look - and we also cover Stirling, Kippen and Bo'ness. Because TPOs and conservation area boundaries are set and held by the local council rather than nationally, a check on a property in East Renfrewshire or South Lanarkshire is made against that council's own register rather than assumed from a neighbouring authority's rules - one more reason a proper report needs a site visit rather than a desk-based guess.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you assess unusual or veteran trees, not just ordinary garden species?
Yes. Species knowledge on the team runs from native Scots pine to exotic monkey puzzle trees, and veteran or champion specimens often need a different inspection approach than a young garden tree - older trees carry more internal decay and cavity risk, so a visual check is sometimes backed up with resistance drilling rather than a walk-round opinion.
What's the difference between BS3998 and a BS5837 survey?
BS3998 is the British Standard covering how tree work itself is carried out - pruning cuts, felling technique, aftercare - and every job we do follows it. BS5837 is a separate standard for pre-development tree surveys: it's what a planning authority asks for when trees stand within 15 metres of a proposed extension or new build, and it produces a root protection area plan rather than a work specification. Planning work near trees needs a BS5837 survey first; tree work itself should be happening to BS3998.
If your report recommends removing or reducing a tree, do you carry out the work yourselves?
Yes - assessment and the physical tree surgery work sit with the same team, so a report doesn't leave you needing to find and brief a separate contractor. Whether the recommendation is a crown reduction, felling or stump removal, that work is quoted and carried out as a separate job once the survey is agreed - the report itself is priced and delivered on its own.
My tree grows near overhead power lines - can you deal with it?
We can assess the tree and carry out any part of the work that doesn't involve contact with a live conductor. Live-line utility cutting training is in progress within the team rather than already completed, so for branches actually touching or close to a live line, the network operator needs to be involved, or the line made dead, first. We'll say so plainly at the assessment stage rather than take on work outside what's currently covered.
What's the difference between a quick tree inspection and a full survey?
A tree inspection is a visual risk check - is this tree currently safe, does it need monitoring, is any deadwood or lean a concern - and can usually be answered on the day for a single tree. A full survey, including a BS5837 report, maps every tree on a site, records species, age class and condition individually, and sets out root protection areas and management recommendations in writing. For peace of mind about one tree, an inspection is proportionate; for a planning application or several trees, the fuller survey is what's needed.
Can you assess a neighbour's tree that's affecting my property?
We can assess the tree and give you a written opinion on its condition and any risk it poses, but we'd need permission from whoever owns it, or from you if it's on your side of the boundary, before doing any physical work. Root or branch encroachment across a boundary has its own legal position separate from tree safety, so where a dispute runs alongside a safety question, our report can support your case but doesn't replace legal advice on the boundary issue itself.
Does an assessment visit include any physical work on the day?
No - the site visit is a visual inspection and, where relevant, a check against the local council's TPO or conservation area register, and it ends with findings discussed on site and a written report to follow. Anything the report recommends, from a light prune to a full felling, is a separate job quoted afterwards, so there's no obligation to have work carried out just because an inspection has taken place.
Book a tree inspection, survey or TPO check
A written assessment costs nothing to ask about - describe the tree and what's prompting the question, whether that's a leaning specimen before winter storms, a lender's requirement, or a planning deadline, and we'll set out whether a single inspection or a fuller survey fits, with a free, no-obligation quote before anything is booked. A TPO or conservation area check that gets missed before work starts can mean a penalty later, so it's worth getting the assessment done before a deadline forces the decision.
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