Clearing ‘The abandoned house on the corner’ Felpham

‘The abandoned house on the corner’ has gained lots of local and media attention over recent years, so we were excited when RTT Services were invited to carry out an initial survey of the site with a view to undertaking the work required that has been long overdue.

As the community will remember, the plot sat untouched for a long while with no attention. This led to Arun District Council applying for an enforcement order on the property, legislating that work needed to take place with immediate effect.

RTT Services were selected from other contractors under guidance from the local tree officer and local authority.

The main cause of concern at the site was any protected ecology at the property and the damage the trees would cause to wildlife if no action was taken.

Once the site was surveyed, plans discussed and finalised, the ecology managed and well considered, work could begin.

The site was accessed and cleared in its majority with our tree shears mounted on our 13-ton excavator to clear through the lower level vegetation and smaller trees.

Once space was made, we were able to safely fell the larger trees that were adjacent to the busy road. The trees, of mixed species (Poplars, Sycamores and Ash trees) needed to be mechanically felled due to the severe decay. The majority had large cavities in them at precarious points or were over mature and some were in sufficient decay in the main base posing a serious risk to users of the neighbouring highway. 

All wood arisings, chip and timber were then extracted from site. All stumps were ground out using our commercial tracked stump grinder, in order to prevent regeneration of unnecessary and unwanted vegetation.

Lastly, our forestry mulcher finalised the clearing of the site. Mulching is a cost-effective and efficient means of regenerating the top layer of soil in preparation for further works or future planting. The surrounding ground was then grass seeded in preparation for the property’s new life. 

Bats have been recently reported of entering and leaving the smaller surrounding buildings on site and it looks to have the potential of being a charming building once again.

From the images, you can see how much space has now been made, the site looks clean and tidy and now a million miles away from its previously overgrown, untouched state.

RTT Services specialise in site clearances in West Sussex and surrounding areas such as this and we have invested wisely in specialist plant and equipment which allows us to complete projects like these in a shorter time frame than our competitors, lending towards our pride in our efficiency. 

Because of our good understanding of the law, rules and regulations associated with arboriculture, we have a good reputation and have built strong relationships with several local housing development companies and undertake site clearance projects for on a regular basis. 

We adhere to all industry guidelines, are an Arboricultural Association accredited contractor and part of the ISO9001 National Highway Sector Schemes, as well as being members of FISA and other industry related schemes.