Simon Richmond, Senior Technical Adviser
Over the last six years, a group of arboriculturists from 11 European countries have worked to develop six new Arboricultural Standards.
The first three Technical Standards in Tree Work (TeST) were published in 2022 and the second group of three, the Consulting Standards in Tree Work (ECoST), were published in February 2025. The work was funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme. The titles of the standards are:
The aim of the project was to create a harmonisation of formal and informal national norms and standards, including current knowledge and experience in the arboricultural community. The working group designed and followed a drafting and consultation structure which incorporated the widest open engagement, resulting in technical standards that can be applied in all European countries.
Because, of course, there are some variations in technical approaches from one country to another, the system is designed to accommodate these variations in National Annexes, which each country is responsible for developing. The annexes include general relevant background information about that country, including geographic details (weather, topography, soils, etc.), arboricultural challenges, legislation, work and safety issues, and qualifications. There is then the option to include specific technical information which is either different to that in the published standard or additional to it.
The project, the standards and some of the national annexes can be viewed, accessed and downloaded free of charge from www.europeanarboriculturalstandards.eu
UK contribution
Although the UK was not formally involved as a partner in the project (due to Brexit and restricted access to EU-funded projects), the Arboricultural Association was invited to offer technical and English- language editing services, to ensure the standards are in line with current UK arboricultural standards and that readability and terminology are consistent.
The Association is now starting work on developing the UK National Annexes for all six standards. We believe that it is essential for the UK to remain closely aligned with European arboriculture and to offer the perspective of a well-established and experienced arboricultural community. Once completed, the UK-based annexes along with the European Arboricultural Standards (EAS) will provide a highly valuable reference for the UK arboricultural sector. As this work progresses, we will also be supporting the revision of existing British Standards in the relevant subject areas, to ensure consistency.
The EAS provide current, well-presented, concise guidance which has had the benefit of a very wide range of input from arboricultural expertise across Europe, reflecting new and evolving understanding of tree development and appropriate approaches to tree management and intervention – where required.
Preparing the annexes will require a detailed analysis of the content of the current core EAS and cross-checking with other guidance and existing standards, including relevant British Standards, to create comprehensive standards to serve our sector. Of course, the topics covered by the EAS do not directly correspond to existing BSI Standards or other guidance, but there are some obvious areas of overlap. Within these, there are aspects of the EAS that are not covered by the BS and, equally, specific aspects of the BS documents that are not currently covered in the EAS. We also want to ensure that the most current thinking is considered and, where peer-reviewed and evidence-based, included in the annexes.
We are starting to make contact with individuals and organisations who we hope will be willing and able to contribute to the revision of the core standards and to make suggestions for any additions or amendments to populate the UK Annexes. If we have not already been in contact with you and you would like to contribute to the development of the UK Annexes, please contact me – simon@trees.org.uk
Continuous revision
The European Arboriculture Council (EAC) is continuing to support the EAS by funding the ongoing revision of the standards on a regular cycle. Thus, the first standard, Tree Pruning, was revised and republished in February 2025, and the Tree Planting standard is open for revision proposals this year, with the revised version planned for publication early in 2026. This cyclic approach ensures that the standards are current and reflect the latest approaches and technology.
If you would like to contribute suggestions for revisions to the Tree Planting standard, you can do so via the TeST page on the EAS website. The consultation is open until October 2025.
This article was taken from Issue 210 Autumn 2025 of the ARB Magazine, which is available to view free to members by simply logging in to the website and viewing your profile area.