TPO & Conservation Area Tree Works Applications
Applications for works to protected trees fail for two reasons, and neither is that the works were unreasonable.
They fail because the works were not specified precisely enough for the tree officer to know what was being asked — "reduce the crown" is not a specification. And they fail because the reasons given were not evidenced — "the tree is too big" is an opinion, not a case.
Urban Tree Management prepares and submits applications for works to trees protected by Tree Preservation Orders, and section 211 notices for trees in conservation areas, across the North West, the Midlands and nationally. Each application is built on a precise works specification and the arboricultural evidence the reason requires — whether that is the tree's condition, its structural state, or the damage it is causing.
We do not promise consent. We prepare the application that gives the reason its best chance of being accepted, and we are clear at the outset where a reason is unlikely to succeed.
Who Needs This
Homeowners who want to reduce, prune or remove a protected tree in their garden and have been told, or suspect, that an application is needed.
Developers and architects where a protected tree affects a scheme and the works required to accommodate it need consent before the permission can be implemented.
Housing associations and management companies managing protected trees across an estate, where works are needed for safety, access or maintenance and each one requires an application.
Schools, care homes and other institutions with protected trees on site and a duty of care that occasionally requires works to them.
Facilities managers and managing agents acting for a client who owns the trees but not the responsibility for dealing with the council.
In each case the need is the same: someone who knows what the tree officer will look for, can specify the works in the terms the authority expects, and can evidence the reason.
TPO Consent Applications — What We Prepare
An application to the authority is free to submit. What determines whether it succeeds is what accompanies it.
Tree identification. The tree correctly identified against the Order — its schedule reference, its position on the Order map, and confirmation that the tree on site is the tree the Order describes. Applications fail here more often than you would expect, particularly on older Orders.
Works specification. Every operation specified to BS 3998:2010 — type of pruning, extent in metres or as a percentage of crown, location on the tree, finished form. A specification the tree officer can visualise and a contractor can price is what gets consented.
Reasons. Why the works are necessary, why the extent proposed is the minimum, and why the alternatives are not appropriate. This is where most applications are weakest and where ours are built.
Evidence. Whatever the reason requires. Where it is condition, we bring the diagnostic evidence — tomography, resistance drilling, structural analysis — that turns "we think it might be decayed" into something the officer can decide on. Where it is property damage, we carry out the subsidence or root damage investigation first, and if the evidence points away from the tree we say so.
Where a tree is genuinely dead or presents an immediate risk of serious harm, a narrow exception applies — but the burden of proving it falls on you afterwards, so document the condition before any works. Where there is time to apply, apply.
The application is submitted on your behalf and we respond to any query the tree officer raises.
Conservation Area Section 211 Notices
Trees in a conservation area not covered by a TPO are protected under section 211 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Works to any tree above the size threshold require six weeks' written notice before they begin.
The notice does not need consent — the authority can make a TPO within the six weeks, confirm the works may proceed, or let the period expire. But a notice that is vague, or that describes works the authority would object to, invites a TPO in response, and a TPO made that way is permanent.
We prepare section 211 notices to the same standard as applications, so the authority can see exactly what is proposed and has no reason to intervene. Where the tree merits protection and the works are disproportionate, we advise on that before the notice goes in.
Refused Applications and Appeals
Where an application has been refused there is a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, normally within 28 days.
Before advising on an appeal we review the refusal — the reasons, the evidence that was before the authority, and whether a resubmission would do better than an appeal. Where an appeal is the right course we prepare the arboricultural evidence in the form the Inspectorate requires, and we advise on the prospects first so an appeal is not pursued on grounds the evidence will not support.
Where an application prepared by someone else has been refused, we review it on the same basis — see our arboricultural report review.
What You Receive
The output is proportionate to the application. For a straightforward pruning or reduction, a letter-format application — tree identification, works specification, reason, photographs — is what the authority needs and what we produce. A full report with supporting evidence is prepared only where the reason requires it.
- Confirmation of the tree's protected status and the route that applies
- The application or notice, completed and submitted on your behalf
- A works specification to BS 3998:2010 for every operation proposed
- The arboricultural justification for the works
- Supporting evidence proportionate to the reason
- Response to any query the tree officer raises during determination
- Where consent is refused, advice on resubmission or appeal
FAQ
Can you submit the TPO application for me?
Yes. We prepare it — tree identification, works specification, reasons and evidence — and submit it to the authority on your behalf. We respond to any query the tree officer raises and advise on what the decision means when it arrives.
My application was refused. Can you help?
Yes. We review the refusal and the application that was before the authority, and advise whether a resubmission with stronger evidence or an appeal is the better route.
Do I need a report for conservation area tree works?
A section 211 notice does not formally require one. But a notice that specifies the works precisely is far less likely to prompt a TPO in response, so we prepare notices to the same standard as applications.
Will my application be approved?
We do not promise consent, and no one honestly can. We prepare the application that gives the reason its best chance, and tell you at the outset where a reason is unlikely to succeed.
What does a TPO application cost?
The application itself is free to submit. Our fee depends on what it needs — a letter-format application for straightforward works is a modest piece of work; a condition-based application with diagnostic investigation is a different one. Fixed fee, quoted in advance.
TPO & Conservation Area Applications — North West
An application that specifies the works precisely and evidences the reason properly is the one the tree officer can consent to. We prepare it, submit it, and see it through.
Get in contact with our highly experienced and personable team of arboricultural consultants today, to discuss your requirements and to obtain your zero obligation quotation.
