The UK government has launched a £50 million scheme to help boost tree-planting rates as part of its fight against climate change. The new Woodland Carbon Guarantee, and other such initiatives, aim to encourage farmers and landowners to plant more trees and create new woodland to store and absorb carbon from the atmosphere in return for payments
Landowners looking to plant trees and shrubs in the vicinity of high-pressure pipelines for this, or other purposes, should be aware of best practice guidelines as plant and tree roots can cause damage to the coatings used to protect the high-pressure pipelines. This in turn could lead to damage of the pipeline itself.
Before planting any new trees or shrubs in the pipeline wayleave / easement, written permission should be obtained from the pipeline operator. Any approval granted by the pipeline operator shall be subject to retaining the rights to remove, at any point in the future, all trees, which in the opinion of a pipeline engineer, might become a risk to the pipeline and its integrity.
Guidance for planting trees near buried pipelines
The consent to plant trees will state what areas may be planted and also the type of tree. The following should act as general guidance for tree planting, based on the centre line of the pipeline:
- Shallow rooting hedges and ground plants (e.g. blackthorn, broom, elder, hazel, etc) may be planted, if necessary (for screening purposes or to mark boundaries) directly across the pipeline
- Fruit trees, such as dwarf apple stocks, may be planted up to 3 metres of the pipeline
- Christmas trees may be planted up to 3 metres of the pipeline on the strict understanding that these are clear-felled at intervals not exceeding 7 years
- The following trees (and those of a similar size, whether deciduous or evergreen) are not permitted be planted withing 6 metres of the pipeline; e.g. ash, beech, birch, most conifers, elm, maple, lime, horse chestnut, oak, apple and pear trees. Within 6 – 10 metres they may be planted as individual specimens or as a single row. Dense mass planting may be carried out at distances of greater than 10 metres
- Poplar and willow trees should not be planted within 10 metres of the pipeline
If you are in any doubt about planting trees or if you are proposing to fell trees or remove shrubs in the vicinity of high-pressure pipelines, please contact a member of BPA’s lands team who will be able to provide further help.
To download a full version of the best practice guidelines, click the following link: UKOPA GPG41 Tree Planting Guidelines Jul 22 Final Version.
