Design Guide Part 3 - North York Moors National Park

SECTION 3TREES3.7.1Pedestrian Access within the Root Protection AreaIf access on foot is required within the RPA, ground protection must be agreed inadvance with the Authority to avoid damage to soils. Scaffold boards on top of acompressible layer laid on a geotextile membrane, or supported by a scaffoldstructure may be a solution. Where appropriate, advice should be sought from anengineer or suitably qualified person.3.7.2Vehicular Access in Proximity to TreesWheeled or tracked construction traffic movements and construction of hardsurfaces within the RPA should be avoided except where agreed in advance. Inthese situations details of ground protection, designed by an engineer and/orarboriculturalist, will be required to ensure root damage does not occur.Where new surfaces are to be installed a ‘no-dig’ specification should be used toavoid immediate root loss due to excavation. Specialist advice should be sought toclarify the most appropriate specification for the intended use in the context of theload bearing capacity of the soils present. For some soils a load suspension layersuch as a cellular confinement system will be appropriate to reduce soil compactiondamage by distributing loads across larger areas.Construction trafficcan significantlyimpact on soils andtree roots on adevelopment site56