Protecting existing trees is vital in an age that recognises the beauty and contribution they make to the environment.

As well as contributing to urban cooling through evapotranspiration, they also provide micro-climatic environments that can reduce energy demands in buildings. Trees also contribute to carbon capture and provide visual relief, softening the sometimes-hard effects of the urban environment.

However, trees can also be a constraint to development and some developers may be tempted to remove them to facilitate construction. This would be unlawful if trees are protected under a tree preservation order, or if they are within a conservation area. Local planning authorities may request a tree survey with a view to achieving a harmonious and sustainable relation between new construction, existing structure, and surrounding trees.

Older, existing trees are often removed due to pavement heave, GreenBlue Urban are often asked what can be done.

RootSafe has been specifically designed for root protection applications. A cellular confinement system that enables load placement to be laterally dissipated rather than transferred to the soil and roots below.

The walls of the cells are perforated and when combined with the infill of clean angular stone, enable free movement of water and oxygen, ensuring that nutrient supplies to the tree roots are maintained.

RootSafe provides a flexible and permeable solution for protecting tree roots, creating a robust and stable platform for constructing vehicular access paths within the root protection area of existing trees without damaging the roots.

The cellular structure and perforated cell walls of RootSafe, reduces the vertical load pressure on sub soils to tree roots and prevents damage. With clean granular materials as infill air and moisture can reach the roots to encourage healthy prolonged growth. With no-dig solutions being the preferred option, RootSafe, combined with a base layer of 25kN/m non-woven geotextile, is ideal as only the surface vegetation need be removed.

As well as avoiding disruption to the roots this reduces construction times and costs as well as controlling surface rutting to increase the long-term performance and aesthetics of the final surface.

Introducing ReRoot RootSafe

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