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UNDER PRESSURE THE PANDEMIC HAS CHANGED THE NATURE OF HOW WE WORK, BUT THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE CHALLENGES FACING THE ARB SECTOR. LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE CURRENT ISSUES, JONATHAN HAZELL ASKS WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED AND HOW CAN WE MOVE FORWARD Home working does not suit all A typical early reaction to the risk of infection in the local planning authority was as with the abandoned Mary Celeste – em t and ec oing offices as everything was shut down and staff sent ome to work and deliver home schooling. Some IT systems coped and some central policies and purchasing allowed people to either take t eir office e ui ment ome or be issued with laptops. Although the system creaked and groaned, it coped and service levels have mostly been maintained. I’m comfortable working at home but only too aware that many others used to s are office s ace wit cannot be as effecti e as t e were if working remotely. This can be for reasons of space or competing interests – in contrast, my adult children thrive on being ignored and I do not have a dog. ose in c arge at offices w ere people continue to come in have new challenges, including spacing
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and pinch points. Employees must follow one-way routes, even if these are not in use on transport or shopping centres. Keeping a distance is not always easy, such as when using the printer or in the kitchen and with freedoms curtailed, we gain insight into what it’s like to live in a zoo. Many meeting rooms have also been closed because they cannot meet the new requirements and instead, digital meetings are commonplace, an e erience nd g astl . eanw ile, w ole oors of offices are being mothballed – we will have to see if there are corresponding savings in business rates. Clients who ask too much On a different tack, m occasionally asked to re-visit an earlier piece of work in the light of new information, perhaps following the advice of another consultant, and generally, I’m happy to oblige and issue a revised report to take account of the variation, without a fee. However, on occasion, I think of the ‘Oliver’ response – ‘Please Sir, can I have some more?’ What if the original piece of work was sound? What if the request for a variation has been lodged, say, 18 months after the
original report was submitted to the client for comment and none were forthcoming? I have, on occasion, sought a second fee and generally my request is accepted, but just occasionally there is an interesting character who raises all manner of objections and resists. Arguments over who said or
VIEWS JONATHAN HAZELL
Will they ever learn? Onto my day job and I’m still surprised by the lack of understanding among my core audience (on both sides, the custodian and the consultant) of BS 5837. This is the British Standard for Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction. It’s mandatory to
how can a tree protection plan without dimensions between fixed points and the required control measures actually protect an arboricultural asset? did what can be interminable, but there is also a principle at stake. I have only been hit with a bad debt on one occasion, but these situations show there can also be bene ts in being aid up front.
comply with this when considering any development project in the vicinity of trees, whether or not planning permission is required. It’s puzzling when the local planning authority requires a copy of the tree constraints plan when
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