Tree Preservation Orders and Protected Trees — A Guide
If a tree is protected by a Tree Preservation Order or stands within a conservation area, you need the local planning authority's permission before carrying out works to it. Doing so without consent is a criminal offence.
This guide explains what protection means, how to find out whether it applies to your tree, and what you can and cannot do. Where you need an application prepared and submitted, see our TPO and conservation area applications service.
How Do I Know If My Tree Is Protected?
Three possibilities, and they are checked differently.
A Tree Preservation Order. Most local planning authorities publish a searchable map or register of TPOs. If you cannot find one, the authority's tree officer will confirm the position on request, and it costs nothing to ask.
A conservation area. All trees above a certain size within a conservation area are protected, whether or not a TPO exists. Conservation area boundaries are published by the local authority.
A planning condition. Trees retained under a previous planning permission are frequently protected by a condition, which appears on no TPO map. If your property was built or extended within the last few decades, the original permission is worth checking.
If you are unsure, ask before you act.
Tree Preservation Orders
A TPO can protect individual trees, groups, areas or whole woodlands, of any size or species, provided they are "anything that may ordinarily be termed a tree." Local planning authorities make them where a tree's removal would have a significant negative effect on the local environment and its enjoyment by the public — where it appears "expedient in the interests of amenity."
TPOs are made under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as amended by the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012. The Order prohibits cutting down, topping, lopping, uprooting, wilfully damaging or wilfully destroying a protected tree without the authority's written consent.
Cutting roots is also prohibited and requires consent. That is the offence people commit accidentally — excavating for a driveway, an extension or a service trench within the rooting area of a protected tree needs consent just as pruning the crown does.
Conservation Areas
Trees in a conservation area not protected by a TPO are safeguarded under section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This requires six weeks' written notice to the authority before works to any tree with a stem diameter over 75mm measured at 1.5m above ground.
The six-week period gives the authority the opportunity to decide whether to make a TPO on the tree. If it does not, the works may proceed once the period expires.
Exceptions to the section 211 requirement
- Trees with a stem diameter up to 75mm at 1.5m, or 100mm if thinning as part of forestry operations
- Works by or on behalf of the local planning authority
- Land of interest to the Forestry Commission
- Works carried out under a felling licence
- Dead trees, and trees presenting an immediate risk of serious harm — though written notice is required, five days before for dead trees and as soon as practicable afterwards for urgent works
Dead, Dying and Dangerous Trees
The exemption for dead trees and trees presenting an immediate risk of serious harm exists, but it is narrower than most people assume. "Dangerous" means an immediate risk of serious harm, not a tree in poor condition that might fail at some point.
The burden of demonstrating that the exemption applied falls on whoever carried out the works, after the event. If the authority disagrees, the position is difficult to defend without evidence.
Where a protected tree is genuinely in poor condition, the safer course is to document it thoroughly before any works — and where there is time to seek consent, seek it.
Exceptions to the section 211 requirement
- Trees with a stem diameter up to 75mm, measured at 1.5m above ground level — or 100mm if thinning as part of forestry operations
- Works by or on behalf of the local planning authority
- Land of interest to the Forestry Commission
- Works carried out in accordance with a felling licence
- Where there is an immediate risk of serious harm, or the tree is dead — though the authority requires written notice as soon as practicable, or five days' notice respectively
Dead, Dying and Dangerous Trees
The exemption for dead trees and trees presenting an immediate risk of serious harm exists, but it is narrower than most people assume and it is not a general escape route.
The burden of demonstrating that the exemption applied falls on whoever carried out the works, after the event. If the authority disagrees, the position is difficult to defend without evidence.
Where a protected tree is genuinely in poor condition, the safer course is to document it thoroughly before any works — photographs, a written assessment, and where the condition is not obvious from the outside, decay detection establishing the internal condition. That converts a contested judgement into evidence.
Where there is time to seek consent, consent should be sought.
Penalties and the Duty to Replace
Contravening a TPO is a criminal offence. Where it results in the destruction of a tree, or is likely to, it carries an unlimited fine on conviction. Other contraventions carry lower penalties but remain criminal offences.
Where a protected tree is removed, lawfully or otherwise, a duty to plant a replacement normally arises, and the replacement tree becomes subject to the original Order.
This applies to contractors as well as owners. A tree surgeon who fells a protected tree commits the offence, and "the owner told me to" is not a defence.
Protected Trees on Development Sites
A TPO does not prevent development. It means the tree is a high-priority constraint that must be designed around, with any works requiring consent and justification. Schemes are regularly consented on sites with protected trees.
The arboricultural position is established through a BS5837 tree survey and tree constraints plan, which show the root protection areas the layout has to work around. Establishing that before the design is fixed is considerably cheaper than discovering it afterwards.
Permitted development rights do not remove the need for consent — see permitted development and trees.
Neighbours' Trees
The common law right to cut back branches or roots to your boundary does not override TPO or conservation area protection. A protected tree is protected wherever its branches happen to be, and "it was over my garden" is not a defence. See tree boundary and neighbour disputes.
Support for Local Planning Authorities
Before an authority makes or confirms an Order, it needs to demonstrate that protection would deliver a reasonable public benefit, now or in future. If the documentation is incomplete, the Order may be flawed and ineffective.
Urban Tree Management supports authorities in gathering that information through site assessment, and in ensuring TPO documentation is valid and contains all the essential components.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if my tree has a TPO?
Check the authority's TPO map or register, ask the tree officer, check whether you are in a conservation area, and check whether the tree was retained under a planning condition on an earlier permission — the last of these appears on no map.
What happens if I cut a protected tree without permission?
It is a criminal offence. Destroying a protected tree carries an unlimited fine, other contraventions carry lower penalties, and a duty to plant a replacement normally arises. Contractors are liable as well as owners.
Does a TPO stop me developing my site?
No. The tree is a high-priority constraint to be designed around, with works requiring consent and justification. Schemes are regularly consented on sites with protected trees.
What if my tree is dead or dangerous?
An exemption exists but it is narrow, and the burden of proving it applied falls on you afterwards. Document the condition thoroughly first, and where there is time to seek consent, seek it.
My neighbour's tree is protected and overhanging my garden. Can I cut it?
Not without consent. The right to cut back to the boundary does not override protection.
How do I apply for consent?
We prepare and submit applications on your behalf — see our TPO and conservation area applications page.
Need an Application Prepared?
If you need consent for works to a protected tree, or a section 211 notice for a tree in a conservation area, we prepare the application, evidence the reason, submit it on your behalf and see it through.
