Terms and Conditions
1.Acceptance of Terms and Conditions
1.1 The Client will be the fee-paying recipient of the service offer unless an agent or other representative is duly appointed in writing by the Client to act on their behalf.
1.2 The Client or their representative will be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions on agreeing the service offer (quote, estimate or contract) in writing or electronically.
1.3 Objective Tree Consultancy will only provide the agreed service offer and act on the instructions of the Client on the basis of a written or electronic communication from the Client, or an approved agent acting on their behalf.
1.4 In the event that the Client cancels a contract following an instruction to Objective Tree Consultancy to proceed with the service offer, the Client will incur any costs reasonably accrued by the Consultant up to the point of contract termination, inclusive of travel costs and accommodation.
1.5 Unforeseen costs e.g. tree numbers within a survey area exceed those stated by the Client, or trees are identified in addition to those within the survey quotation. Objective Tree Consultancy will notify the Client of the additional costs and seek a formal instruction to proceed at the additional cost. Where the Client is unavailable, the service offer will be carried out as per the Client instructions, and a separate quotation provided to the Client.
1.6 Amendments to the Quotation or service offer will be provided to the Client prior to the commencement of the contract with the exception of Clause 1.5 above.
2.Payment
2.1 All fixed price quotations and instructions therein are accepted on the basis of the full payment terms as set out within the quotation, or as agreed interim / staged payments where stated. The payment period shall be within 14 days of the interim or full invoice amount.
2.2 Failure to provide payment within the agreed payment period will lead to an additional surcharge of 8% above the Bank of England Base Rate for a following 30 day period.
2.3 Failure to provide full payment within 60 days of invoice will result in the debt being forwarded to a Debt Recovery Agency, with all costs accruing being recharged to the Client.
2.4 All payments shall be made in pounds (Sterling) by means of a BACs transfer, cheque or other recorded method of payment to the Consultants designated trading account.
3.Limitations of Consultancy Service
3.1 Objective Tree Consultancy will provide consultancy service offers to the Client within the limitations of the instructions agreed by the Client, or within the site-specific limitations as detailed within the report or correspondence provided to the Client.
3.2 Health & Safety Advice: it is the responsibility of the Client to have regard for the provision of health and safety requirements in discharging any duty which is applicable to the Client e.g Occupiers Liability Act, Health and Safety at Work Act. Errors or omissions by the Client in the provision of any relevant health and safety information to Objective Tree Consultancy may remove any liability by the aforementioned company for advice given, whether verbal, written or electronic.
3.3 Access to third party land will not be arranged by Objective Tree Consultancy unless it forms part of the service offer. Access limitations will be identified within any submissions to the Client; see Clause 3.1.
3.4 Where access to third party land is restricted and compromises the ability of Objective Tree Consultancy to perform the service offer, the service offer shall be performed to the best of the Consultants abilities or an amended service offer will be provided to the Client.
4.Complaints
4.1 Should the Client wish to make a complaint about the service provided by Objective Tree Consultancy, this must be made within 7 days of the date of invoice.
5.Limitations of Service Provision
5.1 Objective Tree Consultancy will not be liable for damages in the event of the postponement or cancellation of a service offer due to circumstances beyond its control including (but not exclusively): adverse weather conditions, protected species / habitats, road traffic accidents, transport issues, civil unrest, Health & Safety issues or hostile site conditions.
5.2 Objective Tree Consultancy reserves the right to vary the deadline provision of a service offer (see Clause 5.1) where circumstances arise beyond its control.
6.Insurance
6.1 Objective Tree Consultancy shall provide the service with Public Liability Insurance (£5 million) and Professional Indemnity Insurance (£2 Million) maintained for the duration of the service offer and the validity period stated within any reports or recommendations arising from the service provision.
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Environmental Policy
This policy is a statement of the intent of Oliver Bennett, Arboricultural Consultant, Objective Tree Consultancy.
Objective Tree Consultancy will seek to deliver a range of arboricultural work activities whilst minimising potential adverse impacts to the environment. This will be achieved by:
- working within statutory legislation,
- encouraging and promoting good practice
- training and continual professional development
- standard setting
- work planning
The Business
Objective Tree Consultancy understands and values the environment in which its business operates.
The main aspects of works undertaken by Objective Tree Consultancy include:
- Arboricultural advice, surveying and reporting
- Woodland management advice
- Tree Planting advice
- Air-spade services
Objective Tree Consultancy operates from an office environment which provides a range of spaces for administration and meetings. This building is rated as BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and actively promotes energy efficiency, sustainability and environmental awareness.
Objective Tree Consultancy will reduce the size of its reports and the associated impacts from printing by providing advice e.g. BS5837 Categorisation tables, site notices, glossary of terms as ‘Information Resources’ accessible on our website and only available on request as hard-copy.
Vehicles, Travel, Equipment and Bi-products from the business
Objective Tree Consultancy will undertake its functions to maximise performance and minimise its carbon footprint and emissions, through:
- pro-actively maintaining its main vehicle and any equipment
- work planning (reducing mileage) to minimise travel
- liaising with and employing persons for work at greater distance from its operations base
- hiring modern plant and equipment to ensure efficiency of operations
Objective Tree Consultancy will promote to its clients and the business community the need to value and maintain a quality environment.
Objective Tree Consultancy will emphasise a recycle / reuse culture, and seeks to minimise its contribution and depositions to land fill by careful purchasing at the outset. Waste products e.g. packaging will be recycled where facilities are available. Where possible, products manufactured within the United Kingdom will be purchased to minimise the requirement for long-haul transport.
Objective Tree Consultancy will take due regard of the environment and comply with:
- Statutory and non-statutory legislation
- Best practice e.g. British Standards, ICOP
- Apply accepted codes of practice for wildlife and protected species assessment in its work planning
- Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts to wildlife and the environment from its operations
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Wildlife and Ecology Policy
This policy is a statement of the intent of Oliver Bennett, Arboricultural Consultant, Objective Tree Consultancy and in respect of any staff or persons acting on my behalf:
Wildlife and ecology local to our work-sites shall not suffer harm as a result of our undertakings. In particular, we shall be vigilant as to the presence of European Protected Species (EPS), bats and nesting birds.
European protected species are covered by the following legislations:
- The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
- The Conservation (natural habitats regulations 1994) (amended 2010)
- Countryside and Rights of Way Act (CROW) 2000
Working methods shall be planned that shall reduce the risk to EPS to a level which is as low as reasonably practicable.
Objective Tree Consultancy shall ensure that our working culture encourages ecological enhancement and sustainable environmental practices where possible.
Appropriate advice shall be sought from qualified ecologists or other specialists if specific ecological issues are identified before, during or after our site based operations.
Objective Tree Consultancy is committed to complying with all applicable legal requirements.
In order to meet this commitment, Objective Tree Consultancy shall pursue the following objectives:
- To ensure compliance with all applicable wildlife and ecological legislation and guidance
- To identify and safeguard wildlife where carrying out its operations
- To ensure that the working culture encourages conservation practices and ecological enhancement
- To promote and assist in the management of ecology
- Employees or contracted persons acting on behalf of Objective Tree Consultancy shall be briefed and trained on wildlife and ecological issues which might be encountered in the field
- Clients shall be actively encouraged to take advantage of our commitment to conservation and ecological enhancement.
This policy shall be communicated to all persons working for or on behalf of Objective Tree Consultancy.
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Biosecurity Policy
This policy is a statement of the intent of Oliver Bennett, Arboricultural Consultant, Objective Tree Consultancy. Biosecurity is defined as a set of precautions that aim to prevent the introduction and spread of harmful organisms. These may be pests, pathogens or invasive species.
Objective Tree Consultancy will:
- plan and manage our business activities to ensure the possibility of introduction and spread of pests and diseases is kept to a minimum.
- comply with all legal requirements applicable to plant health and biosecurity, for example Plant Health Act and Plant Heath Order.
- ensure amendments, alterations and additions to the legal requirements are incorporated into working practices.
- provide the necessary personnel and financial resources to assist the company in meeting its biosecurity objectives
- to develop and maintain effective relationships with plant health agencies.
- diversify tree populations where our business activities allow, in order to mitigate against possible future pest and disease introductions
- seek appropriate advice from specialists if specific challenging biosecurity issues are identified before, during or after operations
- alert the appropriate organisation of any suspected quarantine pest & disease outbreak we encounter.
In order to meet these commitments Objective Tree Consultancy shall pursue the following objectives:
- Work in accordance with current industry good practice and will ensure we are aware of any changes or updates to biosecurity practices.
- The company will hold internal knowledge and information on basic identification of current pest and disease threats
- Be equipped with the necessary equipment, PPE, and substances to implement biosecurity control measures including effective hygiene and sanitation practices.
- Cases of ill health in trees will be reported through the Forestry Commissions Tree Pest and Disease sightings reporter (TreeAlert)
- Recommendations made to clients (with regard to species choice) for new tree planting will take into consideration, the composition of the local tree population and the resilience of that population to pests, pathogens and invasive species.
- Promote the use of UK sourced and grown tree stock (where possible) from reputable suppliers in the nursery trade, or require all imported stock is quarrantined for two years (and certified as pest and disease free by the supplier) prior to planting in the wider environment.
- This biosecurity policy shall be communicated to all persons working for or on behalf of Objective Tree Consultancy.
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