Applying to work on a tree with a preservation order
Works to a tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order need the council's written consent. The application is free and takes eight weeks, and most refusals come down to a vague description of the works rather than the tree itself.
If a tree in your garden is covered by a Tree Preservation Order, you need written consent from the council before you cut it down, top it, lop it, uproot it or wilfully damage it. The TPO application to fell or prune is free, it is made on a standard form, and the council has eight weeks to decide. Doing the work without consent is a criminal offence, and ignorance of the order is not a defence.
Most refusals are not about the tree. They are about an application that described the works badly.
Checking whether the tree is protected, and how
There are three separate ways a tree in England can be protected, and they have different procedures.
A Tree Preservation Order made under section 198 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 protects named trees, groups, areas or woodlands. The council holds the order and a map. Ask the tree officer directly, in writing, and ask for a copy of the order and the schedule rather than a verbal answer.
A tree in a conservation area with a stem diameter over 75 mm at 1.5 m above ground is protected by a different mechanism, a six-week notice to the council under section 211 rather than an application for consent.
A tree can also be protected by a planning condition attached to a permission, which is enforced as a breach of condition rather than under the tree legislation. Many suburban estates carry both a condition and an order on the same tree.
Check all three before you assume anything. The council's online map is a helpful starting point and is not a legal record, so the order itself is the document that matters.
What the application form asks for
The form is short. It asks for the applicant's details, the site address, an identification of each tree, a description of the proposed works, and the reasons for them. A plan showing the position of each tree is required, and photographs are almost always expected even where the form does not demand them.
Identify trees using the reference in the order where one exists, for example T4 or G2, and add your own description. "The large oak at the rear" is not enough on a plot with three oaks. Where the order covers an area or woodland, give a numbered plan of your own and use it consistently through the form, the report and the photographs.
There is no fee for a TPO consent application. That is worth knowing, because it removes the temptation to bundle several jobs into one vague application to save money.
Describing works to a recognised standard
This is where applications succeed or fail. Councils reject descriptions that are ambiguous, because a vague consent is unenforceable and an officer will not sign one.
Use the terminology of BS 3998, the British Standard on tree work, and give a measurable specification:
- Crown reduction stated as the reduction in metres from the current extent, with the intended final height and spread, not as a percentage of the tree.
- Crown thinning as a percentage of leaf area, applied to the outer crown.
- Crown lifting to a stated height above ground level, naming the branches to be removed.
- Deadwood removal above a stated diameter.
- Felling stated plainly as felling, with the stump treatment specified.
Avoid the words topping and lopping in the description of works you want, because both describe practices the standard does not support and both invite refusal. If a large reduction is really needed, say why with evidence rather than reaching for a bigger number.
Where the work is being done to accommodate a development, the arboricultural context belongs in an Arboricultural Impact Assessment rather than in the tree work application, and the two should say the same thing.
Evidence that supports a consent
The council is weighing the amenity value of the tree against your reason for the works. Give it something to weigh.
Photographs from several positions, dated, showing the tree in context and showing the specific defect or conflict. A short report from an arboriculturist where the case rests on tree condition, decay or structural defect. For a subsidence case, evidence linking the damage to the tree: a structural engineer's report, a soil investigation identifying shrinkable clay, root identification, and level monitoring where it exists. Insurers usually hold this material and will release it.
Nuisance reasons carry less weight than people expect. Leaf fall, shading of a lawn, honeydew, blocked gutters and interference with a satellite signal are rarely enough on their own for a mature tree of high amenity value. Loss of light to a habitable room, structural damage to a building, and demonstrable risk are the reasons that succeed.
Where you commission a report, use someone with a recognised arboricultural qualification and professional indemnity cover. PlanScope's professional directory is one route to a reviewer who can check a draft before it is submitted.
The decision, conditions and replanting
The council has eight weeks from a valid application. It can grant consent, grant it subject to conditions, or refuse it.
Conditions are common and usually practical: the works to be carried out within two years, to be carried out in accordance with BS 3998, by a competent contractor, outside the bird nesting season, or with a replacement tree of a stated species and size planted in a stated position by a stated date.
Take the replanting condition seriously. Where consent to fell is granted subject to a replacement, that replacement carries the protection of the original order once planted, and failing to plant it is enforceable by a tree replacement notice. Choose a species that suits the position rather than the smallest thing that satisfies the wording, because you will be living with it.
Nesting birds are protected separately under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 regardless of any tree consent, and bats roosting in a tree require a licensed ecologist. A tree consent does not override either.
Appealing a refusal
Where consent is refused, or granted with conditions you cannot accept, there is an appeal to the Secretary of State determined by the Planning Inspectorate under the Town and Country Planning (Tree Preservation) (England) Regulations 2012. The same route is used where the council has not decided in time, and the current time limits and forms are set out in the Planning Inspectorate's guidance, which is worth checking before you rely on any deadline.
Appeals are decided on written representations in most cases, with a site visit. The inspector considers the amenity value of the tree, the reasons for the works and the evidence, and can grant consent, impose different conditions, or dismiss the appeal.
Practical advice from decisions in this area is consistent: appeals succeed where the applicant produced arboricultural evidence and failed where the case was about inconvenience. If your original application had no report and no photographs, the appeal is the wrong place to introduce them for the first time.
Where the tree sits on a site you are developing, plan the tree work and the landscape response together in a single Landscape Strategy. Browse the 66 report types to see which tree and landscape documents your project is likely to need.
This is general guidance and not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified arboriculturist before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a fee to apply for works to a protected tree?
No. Applications for consent under a Tree Preservation Order are free. That removes any reason to bundle several jobs into one loosely worded application, and it means a separate, precisely described application for each tree or group is usually the faster route to consent.
How long does the council have to decide?
Eight weeks from a valid application. Where consent is refused or granted subject to conditions you cannot accept, there is an appeal to the Secretary of State determined by the Planning Inspectorate under the 2012 Regulations. Check the current time limits in the Inspectorate's guidance before relying on any deadline.
How should I describe the works on the form?
Use BS 3998 terminology and give measurable figures. State crown reduction in metres from the current extent with the intended final height and spread, crown thinning as a percentage of leaf area, and crown lifting to a stated height. Avoid the words topping and lopping, which invite refusal.
Are leaf fall and shading good enough reasons?
Rarely, on their own, for a mature tree with high amenity value. Leaf fall, honeydew, blocked gutters and satellite interference carry little weight. Loss of light to a habitable room, structural damage supported by engineering and soil evidence, and demonstrable risk from a defect are the reasons that succeed.
What happens if I have to replant?
A replacement tree required by condition is protected by the original order once planted, and failure to plant it can be enforced through a tree replacement notice. Choose a species suited to the position and the eventual size rather than the smallest specimen that satisfies the wording of the condition.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.