CAVAT News 

CAVAT and the Sycamore Gap tree.

A CAVAT Group response to the criticisms raised in the BBC article (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4w7w31p4go) on how CAVAT was applied for the valuation of the Sycamore Gap tree.

The CAVAT Group was not involved in the valuation of this tree nor consulted in the application of the Full Method for this purpose.  We are not privy to the Freedom of Information (FoI) requests mentioned in the BBC article.  The CAVAT methodologies are written out and published and available free of charge to ensure clarity in each step, and to support consistency of use.  The CAVAT Group remind all practitioners to follow the training you received prior to your use of the CAVAT Full Method: follow the method as written and taught, including recording your decision making for informed debate should two valuers arise at different valuations.  

Please also, wherever possible, submit your valuation to our Examples of Use library.

CAVAT Examples of Use Library

The CAVAT Group are building a library of examples of use of CAVAT. We would be grateful if practitioners would contribute their use cases using the survey form link https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/0caa17256ae04fb5be74e63cea270295. We hope to use the library to review use of CAVAT and the methodology, to promote the use of CAVAT, demonstrate its use in compensation and court cases, and more.

Contributors can choose to include their data in an open-access library, or for their data only to be used for review by the CAVAT group.  

Thank you in advance for your contributions. 

Updated CAVAT 

The CAVAT Group were delighted to launch the updated CAVAT Full Method on March 27^th 2023, supported by a brand new, fully illustrated Guide for Practitioners (version 1.2 July 26) and survey spreadsheet.

For over 15 years CAVAT has been a respected approach to valuing amenity trees and is regularly used by over half of the UK’s local authorities, amongst other organisations and individuals. The Full Method has been revised to address the under-valuing of trees that are extensively managed to best fit with their context, for instance urban pollards.

Launched following extensive review and testing with experienced practitioners, the revised method includes new steps that evaluate the completeness and quality of the tree, its crown and canopy, to aid objectivity in tree assessment.

The CAVAT survey spreadsheet has been refreshed to include a Crown Completeness Calculator and a table of Community Tree Index areas. The current Unit Value Factor (UVF 2025 - 2026) is £23.56.

* ‘Year’ indicates the financial year of which the RPI, or nursery sales, were used to determine the UVF for the forthcoming year. For example, Year 2023-2024 indicates the appraisal of nursery sales completed in 2023-2024; this UVF was thus available for use from the point of release (approximately: May 2024) until the next revision date (approximately May 2025). NB. Annual reviews are conducted April-May, as detailed in: “UVF_Calculator_March25_redacted.pdf”

Training on the revised method will be available to practitioners across the UK, with dates and locations to be announced soon.

To register your interest in training email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The CAVAT Group will conduct a review of the Full Method, it’s Practitioners Guide, and the Spreadsheet after one year. The review will be based upon use by members of the CAVAT Group, feedback received during training events, and submissions from users. You may submit your feedback to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Click here to view all documents related to CAVAT including the Guide for Practitioners.

Peer reviewed CAVAT

In 2018, CAVAT was for the first time presented in a formal publication in the Arboricultural Journal. The article is free to download from tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03071375.2018.1454077.

The paper describes the uses for which CAVAT was designed and how it is being used. It comprehensively describes the methodology and shows where this deviates from similar valuation tools. 

Highlights

• Tree officers need monetary values for amenity trees
• CAVAT is a trunk formula valuation method adjusted for tree health and function
• CAVAT valuations adjust for human population density to account for all potential beneficiaries
• Compensation for damaged public trees has been secured using the Full Method
• Quick Method has informed urban forest succession planning and resource allocation.

The CAVAT spreadsheet will work on PCs, Mac, Android, and iOS. A mobile friendly version is in development.

Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT)

Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT) was developed by Chris Neilan and the London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) in 2008 and is regarded as one of the principal methods of tree valuation in the UK.

CAVAT provides a method for managing trees as public assets rather than liabilities. It is designed not only to be a strategic tool and aid to decision-making in relation to the tree stock as a whole, but also to be applicable to individual cases, where the value of a single tree needs to be expressed in monetary terms.

The CAVAT Group

The CAVAT Group is pro bono initiative who seek to ensure that CAVAT is an established, defendable system that can be relied upon to inform decisions about amenity trees; encourage and facilitate CAVAT training; and promote CAVAT to see it widely adopted as a complementary system for tree experts and decision makers, planners, and policy makers.

The CAVAT Group has membership from LTOA and MTOA, plus representatives from the commercial arboricultural consulting and research sectors.

The CAVAT Group and Chris Neilan are delighted to be launching the updated CAVAT Full Method.