Appealing a refused Tree Preservation Order consent

If the council has refused consent to fell or prune a tree protected by a Tree Preservation Order, you have 28 days from the date of the decision notice to appeal, and the appeal goes to the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State under the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012. There is no fee. A tree preservation order appeal is decided on the same material the council had, plus whatever you add, so the quality of the arboricultural evidence usually decides it.

Diary the 28 days the moment the refusal arrives. It is a short window and it is not extended for holidays.

How applications for protected trees are decided

Works to a tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order need the written consent of the local planning authority. The application is free, and the authority has eight weeks to decide it unless you agree an extension. If it does not decide in that time, the application is treated as refused and the same appeal route opens.

Councils weigh the amenity value of the tree against the reasons given for the works. Amenity is assessed on the tree's visibility from public places, its size and form, its contribution to the character of the area, its condition and its safe useful life expectancy. Many authorities use a scoring system derived from published amenity valuation methods, and the officer report will usually explain which factors carried weight.

The starting point is that the Order exists because the authority has already judged the tree worth protecting. You are arguing against a decision the council has previously made and recorded.

Grounds on which consent is refused

Four reasons cover most refusals. The tree is healthy and the works would reduce its amenity value without adequate justification. The pruning proposed is excessive, such as a topping or a heavy reduction that would damage the tree. The reason given is a nuisance the law does not treat as sufficient, such as leaf fall, shading of a garden, sap on a car or blocked gutters. Or the evidence offered does not stand up, most often a subsidence claim without soil and root evidence.

Refusals on the third ground are the hardest to overturn, because the reason itself is weak. Leaf and fruit fall, birds, honeydew, loss of light to a garden and the general inconvenience of a large tree are not usually enough on their own, however genuine the irritation.

An appeal succeeds where the tree's condition, the risk it presents or the damage it is causing is demonstrated properly, or where a lesser form of work would achieve the same result and the council refused the lot rather than negotiating.

The appeal route and the deadline

Appeals are made on the Planning Inspectorate's form, and are almost always dealt with by written representations, with a site visit. An inspector may hold a hearing where the issues warrant it, which is rare for a single tree.

The steps are short.

1. Read the refusal notice and identify each reason given.
2. Lodge the appeal within 28 days of the date on the decision notice.
3. Set out the grounds, attaching the arboricultural evidence you rely on.
4. Respond to the council's statement when it is circulated.
5. Make sure the tree is accessible for the site visit and that any defect you rely on can be seen.

The procedure and timetable are similar in shape to a planning appeal by written representations, described in the guidance on the full written representations timetable. Where the council simply never decided the application, the trade-offs in appealing against non-determination apply here too.

Evidence from an arboriculturist

A report from a qualified arboriculturist is the difference between an appeal that is arguable and one that is not. It should identify the tree by species, size and position, describe its condition from a proper inspection rather than a glance from the pavement, state the findings of any decay detection or aerial inspection, assess the risk using a recognised method, and explain why the work proposed is the appropriate response.

Where the works are pruning rather than felling, the specification matters. Say what proportion of the crown is being removed, to which branch order, and to what standard. A specification written to the British Standard for tree work reads as professional. A request to "cut it back hard" reads as the opposite, and invites a refusal on the ground that the work would damage the tree.

The council's own tree officer is an arboriculturist, and the inspector knows it. Commission someone whose report can survive that reading, with a recognised arboricultural qualification and, ideally, registration with a consultant scheme. The Tree Survey page sets out what a full report covers, and a reviewer can be found through the professional directory.

Subsidence and structural damage cases

Subsidence appeals turn on three linked questions, and evidence on all three is needed.

First, is the building actually moving, shown by level monitoring or crack monitoring over a period long enough to capture seasonal movement, usually a full year. Second, is the soil shrinkable clay, shown by borehole logs and plasticity testing. Third, is this tree implicated, shown by root identification from samples taken at the foundation, rather than by proximity alone.

A claim supported only by photographs of cracks and the observation that a large tree stands nearby will fail. One supported by monitoring, soil data and identified roots usually succeeds, at least in part, and often produces a consent for a phased crown reduction rather than the felling originally sought. Insurers' engineers produce this evidence routinely, so ask the insurer for the full report rather than the summary letter.

Compensation for loss caused by a refusal

The 2012 Regulations provide for compensation for loss or damage caused by a refusal of consent or by conditions attached to a consent. The scheme is narrower than people expect. Regulation 24 sets out the exclusions, which include loss of development value and a lower monetary limit below which no claim can be made, and there are time limits for making a claim.

Read the regulation before assuming a claim is available, and take advice where the sums are more than trivial. The claim is made to the authority, and disputes go to the Upper Tribunal.

Replanting conditions on a consent

A consent to fell will normally carry a condition requiring a replacement tree of a stated species and size, planted in a stated position within a stated period. The replacement is then automatically protected by the same Order.

Negotiate the species and position if the default does not work. A council will often accept a different species in a better location, and a smaller nursery stock that establishes faster. What it will not accept is a replacement that quietly never happens, because failure to replant is enforceable by a tree replacement notice.

And if the refusal was of pruning rather than felling, ask the tree officer what specification they would grant before appealing. A consent agreed in a phone call beats an appeal won in four months.

PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval. This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.