If you are looking to remove or have work done on trees on your property, it’s vital to be aware that you may have a Tree Protection Order (TPO) or be within a Conservation Area. Whether you are an individual homeowner or part of a commercial business, this can be a fundamental barrier to necessary work. It is strongly advised that you seek advice and help from a qualified arborist like us when planning works on potentially protected trees.
TPOs are administrated by Local Planning Authorities (LPA) in order to preserve trees that are seen to bring significant benefit to the local area. This includes trees on both public and private land. A single TPO can be placed on any kind of tree and any number of trees from one single tree to a large woodland. A TPO makes it a criminal offence to not only damage or destroy a protected tree, but to also carry out potentially necessary works including cutting down, topping, lopping or uprooting a protected tree without the LPA’s permission. If you do damage or carry out any of these listed works on a protected tree, the most serious cases could end up with you facing an unlimited fine from the Crown Court. To gain permission, you are required to apply eight weeks in advance of the planned works and provide a number of documents such as a location map, type of tree and an outline of the planned work with a valid reason.
Conservation Areas
A Conservation Area is a space of land regarded to have notable environmental or historical importance. Every Local Authority has at least one Conservation Area, with thousands across the whole of England. Trees within this area are under protection, and when planning any work on trees within a Conservation Area, you are required to give written notice to your LPA six weeks in advance of the planned works. Your LPA will then decide whether you can proceed, or if they wish to issue a TPO.
Gaining permission from your LPA to work on a protected tree tends to be an arduous process that can take a lot of time and research. When permission is granted for you to work on protected trees, it can often be subject to conditions which must be strictly followed. We at Ward Tree Surgeons are experts when it comes to navigating the process of gaining permission to work on protected trees. We are able to identify whether your tree is protected and provide our expert opinion on if we think it’ll be possible for you to gain planning permission or not. We know exactly what documentation is required when applying for permission to work on a tree either within a Conservation Area or with a TPO. Once permission is granted, we can either advise you on your planned works, or have our team carry out the work for you. Whether it’s one tree in your back garden, or a larger woodland area, we have the expertise and resources to achieve your proposed project.