Navigating tree protection law for development, land management and homeowners

A Tree Preservation Order is a legal order made by a local planning authority in England to protect specific trees, groups of trees or woodlands in the interests of amenity. An Order prohibits various activities such as felling and pruning of trees without the local planning authority’s written consent. TPOs bind the land rather than the owner, so they pass with title and continue to apply regardless of who owns or occupies the site.

A new TPO is provisional for six-months with a 28-day consultation period before it is 'confirmed' and made permanent. This window is your only opportunity to challenge the existence or scope of the order itself. Once confirmed, you can only apply for consent to carry out specific works (you cannot challenge the order except by application to the High Court on very specific grounds). An objection needs to be grounded in the amenity case: whether the tree genuinely contributes sufficient amenity value to justify protection, whether the order has been properly made, or whether it is disproportionate in scope. We can advise quickly on the strength of your position and prepare a formal objection if there are reasonable grounds - but the 28-day window moves fast.

For a TPO tree, you need the LPA's written consent before carrying out any specified works. The application must clearly describe the works, the trees affected and the reason; and where the justification is arboricultural (condition, safety, nuisance) rather than purely operational, expert evidence is expected. For a tree in a Conservation Area, you submit a prior notification (section 211 notice) rather than applying for permission. The LPA then has six weeks in which to make a TPO if it considers the tree worth protecting. In both cases, poorly framed applications without supporting evidence are routinely refused or queried (and a refusal starts a clock on any appeal). We can prepare and submit applications and notifications and advise on the strongest available grounds in advance.

That depends on why the application was refused and what evidence was submitted originally. An appeal to the Planning Inspectorate is free and is the right route where the application was well-evidenced and the refusal is disputable on its merits. Where the original application lacked supporting evidence, a resubmission with a full arboricultural report is usually more reliable than an appeal based on the same inadequate record. We'll advise on which route is appropriate before you commit to either - getting this wrong can mean losing the appeal and missing a window to resubmit within your programme.

TPOs come in several forms: Individual Orders protect named trees; Group Orders cover a defined set; Woodland Orders protect all trees within a woodland area; and Area Orders (now rarely made but still in force on older sites) can protect every tree above a specified stem diameter within a defined area, regardless of species or condition. For sites with existing vegetation, a proper desktop check is essential before any site clearance or enabling works are carried out. An Area or Woodland Order can catch trees that were never individually assessed by the LPA and Woodland Orders cover all trees that grow within its bounds in perpetuity.

Checking the LPA's TPO register and Conservation Area designations is the minimum starting point, but it isn't sufficient on its own. Area and Woodland TPOs may not appear clearly on all publicly available mapping. Conservation Area protection applies to all trees with a stem diameter over 75mm at 1.5m above ground (without any individual designation), meaning a site can carry significant protected tree obligations that don't show up in a TPO search at all. Before any site clearance, demolition or enabling works, a desk-based protected tree assessment is advisable. We can carry this out quickly and provide a written record of what's protected and what isn't.

Unauthorised works to a TPO tree or a tree in a Conservation Area are a criminal offence under the Town and Country Planning Act. Critically, the offence applies to anyone who causes or permits the work - not just the person who carries it out. A developer or employer who instructs site clearance without confirming protected tree status can be prosecuted even if a subcontractor carried out the physical work. Fines can reach £20,000 per tree (unlimited for more serious offences), and the LPA can also require replacement planting, which can be both costly and a significant programme risk if unplanned. We can advise on protecting your position before works begin and on options if an incident has already occurred.

Act quickly and don't wait for formal enforcement action before taking advice. The period between an incident and any formal notice is often the most valuable window - engaging the LPA proactively, with a clear account of what happened and a credible remediation or mitigation plan, consistently produces better outcomes than leaving the authority to investigate and form its own view. We can inspect the tree, advise on whether a material offence is likely to have been committed, and help you structure your response. If enforcement action has already been initiated, we can advise on grounds, options and programme implications.

Protected trees are a material planning consideration, and their presence on or adjacent to your site will be taken into account from the LPA's first assessment of your application. Where a TPO or Conservation Area tree falls within or close to a proposed footprint, you will need a BS5837 tree survey, a Tree Constraints Plan and usually an Arboricultural Impact Assessment regardless of whether you intend to remove the tree. If removal is proposed, the LPA will expect a robust justification, and for a TPO tree in particular, a refusal to consent to removal is possible even where the tree is in poor condition. Early engagement lets us identify how protected trees constrain your layout, whether there are grounds to remove specific constraints, and how to frame your application so that the arboricultural case supports rather than delays consent.

Yes, and they operate independently of it. A planning permission may include conditions that restrict works to specified trees, require pre-commencement arboricultural supervision, or prohibit clearance until a method statement is approved - regardless of whether those trees are also TPO-protected. Breach of a planning condition is a separate matter from a TPO offence, with its own enforcement and appeal route. On development sites, it's common for trees to carry both a TPO and a planning condition, which means two parallel consent requirements. We can identify all tree-related conditions on a given consent and advise on the documentation needed to discharge them.

A Felling Licence is a separate consent required from the Forestry Commission for the felling of growing trees, distinct from and in addition to any TPO or planning consent. It applies to most trees regardless of TPO status, though there are significant exemptions - trees with a trunk diameter below 8cm, trees in a garden, orchard, churchyard or public open space, and trees already covered by a planning permission. TPO consent and a Felling Licence are independent requirements: having one does not remove the need for the other, and on development sites the interaction between the two can catch out applicants who focus on the planning permission and miss the Forestry Commission requirement. We can advise on whether a Felling Licence applies and, where necessary, make the application.

Many situations are time-sensitive -a TPO objection windows close in 28 days, enforcement responses work better early, and pre-clearance due diligence often needs to happen before a programme decision is made. We aim to respond to enquiries within three working days and can usually provide initial guidance on your options quickly, even before a formal instruction is in place. Contact us by phone or email with a short description of the situation and we'll come back to you directly.