Sometimes our work can stretch beyond landscaping, including access negotiations and in some rare instances we are also the intermediaries between the developer and the public.

Our teams are trained to handle difficult situations and can be on hand to translate technical jargon, and if required they can explain to local communities the works being carried out to mitigate delays to works.  Which is exactly what we had to do with this recent success story in Coventry.

In 2022 we received a brief to carry out Pre-Con clearance works to an 11 acre site, so our client could carry out Topographical Surveys.

We were warned there was no vehicle access and that all works may have to be done by hand. After a site visit and seeing the amount and size of the Blackthorn, we were determined to find access for our machinery to avoid delays and higher costings for the client.

Our team assessed satellite maps and identified the ideal route, and then reached out to the local sports centre and successfully gained their approval to access via their grounds.

Because of the time of year, it was necessary for us to arrange an Ecological survey for bird nesting, and once we were cleared to start in the nest free areas we proceeded to clear the Blackthorn with our Bobcat Flail.

However, our works alerted some of the local residents who were concerned about the effect the proposed development would have on the local wildlife. They were determined to stop the works and even went to the extreme of standing in front of the machinery. For safety reasons all works were stopped.

We worked very closely with our client, and after many weeks of talks with the local residents they came to an agreement to re-start, and works were completed swiftly with no further delays.

A few months later, our client reached out again, and asked for our assistance to locate and create access to three Manhole covers so they could carry out a survey of the drains within the site. These were located in another area heavily populated with Blackthorn.

Although talks with locals had resolved issues during our previous visit, we wanted to avoid any possible future confrontation, and so we needed to carry this work out with minimal disruption.

With consent from the client, PGE’s Arb Team were dispatched at 5:00am with electric chainsaws and a plan with the rough locations of the drain covers. All works were completed discreetly and quickly, with very little disruption…not even the wildlife knew we were there.

At the end of 2022, the client approaches us again to assist further with this site. They asked us to return to site and clear an area of Blackthorn for an Attenuation Pond survey. Now knowing the site very well and always ensuring safety is priority, we recommended installing Heras fencing to keep the public from entering the land and accessing the work area.

All 200m of Heras was installed, and we were ready to go…or so we thought.

When we returned to carry out the clearance works, unfortunately all the Heras was taken/ripped down and over 50% of the panels were bent in half with the feet being strewn over the area. We proceeded to photograph the area for the client and clear the panels, however the fencing clips were missing, and our assumption was they’d been thrown into the scrub we were meant to clear. Which meant our job just got a whole lot harder, because it would have to cleared by hand to avoid any potential dangers of clips being flown by the Bobcat Flail and hitting the team or passers-by.

Whilst we were clearing the damage, one of the local residents who had previously stood in front of machinery and delayed works entered the site to enquire as what we were doing.

Our team remained calm and professional, and simply explained what had happened, that it was vandalism, and the materials that were strewn into the scrub would not necessarily cause damage to our machinery whilst we carry out the clearance but would potentially cause serious injury to any passers-by if any clips were thrown from the Bobcat Flail.

The next day we returned to gather what materials we could, and as if by magic, all the clips that were thrown into the scrub had been stacked in a pile (we can only make assumptions here, but we wondered if guilt motivated a conscience here).

We continued to communicate with the client and assist them with what they needed, and after further talks with the locals, we were able to return unhindered to complete what we originally set out to do.

Fast Forward to beginning of 2024, we get the go ahead to clear the site and install the tree protection fencing as per the Tree report plans.

It had taken our client 2 years to get to this point, but we continued to be on hand throughout and work closely with them, the ecologists and the consultants who produced the AMS report, and it was very satisfying to see it to the end.

We were very pleased to hand the site over ready for our client to build homes for the future.