Finding tree preservation order data online
National datasets now carry TPO records from many councils, but coverage is patchy and area orders resist mapping. Absence of a record proves very little.
There is no single national register that will tell you reliably whether a particular tree is protected. Tree preservation order data online comes from two places: the national planning data platform at planning.data.gov.uk, which publishes TPO records contributed by individual local planning authorities, and each council's own register and map layer. Neither is complete, and the honest answer for most addresses is that you check both and then ask the tree officer.
That matters because felling or lopping a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence, and the penalty on conviction can be substantial. The cost of a written confirmation is nothing.
What authorities publish and where
Local planning authorities are required to keep their Tree Preservation Orders available for public inspection, and most now publish them online in one of three forms.
- A searchable map layer showing order boundaries and, in many cases, individual tree points.
- A downloadable list of orders by reference number, with scanned order documents and their schedules.
- A constraints layer inside the authority's planning application search, which shows whether a site is affected without identifying the individual tree.
Quality varies more than it should. Orders made in the 1970s and 1980s exist as typed schedules with a hand-drawn plan, and the digitisation of those plans introduces error. An order plotted to a modern base map from a 50 year old sketch may show a tree several metres from where it actually stands.
The national dataset and its coverage
The national planning data platform collects tree preservation order data, tree preservation zone data and individual tree records from authorities that have published them in the required specification. Where an authority has contributed, the data is useful: you can see order boundaries and, for point records, individual protected trees.
Where an authority has not contributed, there is nothing, and the platform does not pretend otherwise. So a blank result on the national platform tells you only that the authority has not published in that format.
Treat the national data as a starting point that is quick to search across boundaries, and the council's own record as the position you rely on. The platform is also the place to check other designations at the same time, which our note on searching planning decision data across authorities develops further.
Searching a council's own map layer
Work from the address to the order rather than the other way round.
- Find the authority's TPO or tree constraints map and locate the site.
- Note the order reference for anything touching or adjoining the site.
- Download the order document and read the schedule as well as the plan.
- Check the order's date, because the schedule describes the trees as they were then.
- Print or save the map extract with the date of the search shown.
Step three is the one people skip. The schedule is the legal description, and it will say whether the order protects individual trees identified by number, groups, woodlands or an area. The plan is an aid to interpretation rather than the definition.
Where the order protects a woodland, all trees within the woodland boundary are protected, including trees that have grown since the order was made. That is the opposite of how an area order works.
Area orders and why they are hard to check
An area order protects the trees that were standing within the defined area at the date the order was made. It does not protect trees that grew up afterwards.
Which creates an interpretation problem that no dataset solves. To know whether a particular tree is protected by a 1978 area order you need to know whether that tree existed in 1978, and the evidence for that is historic aerial photography, old maps and the tree's own age. Councils are aware of the difficulty and many have replaced area orders with individual or group designations over time, but plenty remain in force.
Two practical steps. Ask the council's tree officer directly whether they consider a specific tree to be caught by an area order, and get the answer in writing. And where a mature tree sits in an area order and its age is arguable, an arboriculturist can estimate age from girth and form, which is the evidence you would rely on if the point were ever tested.
Conservation area trees shown separately
Trees in a conservation area that are not covered by an order have their own protection. Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 you must give the local planning authority six weeks' written notice before carrying out works to a tree in a conservation area with a stem diameter of more than 75 mm, measured 1.5 metres above ground level. The threshold is 100 mm where the work is thinning to help the growth of other trees.
The authority can respond by making a Tree Preservation Order within that six week period, which is exactly what often happens. So a section 211 notice is not a formality.
Conservation area boundaries are published separately from TPO layers, and both need checking. A tree can be in a conservation area, covered by an order, and also subject to a planning condition requiring its retention, with three overlapping controls and three different procedures.
Confirming in writing with the tree officer
Send one email. Include the full address, a plan with the tree marked, a photograph, the stem diameter at 1.5 metres, and the species if you know it. Ask three questions.
Is the tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order, and if so which one. Is the site in a conservation area. Is the tree subject to any planning condition or planning obligation requiring its retention.
Most authorities answer within a fortnight, and a few charge for a formal tree constraints search. Keep the reply. It is the document that protects you, and it is also the document a purchaser's solicitor will want.
Where works are needed to a protected tree, the application for consent has no fee and is normally determined in eight weeks. A supporting arboricultural report from a suitably qualified author carries much more weight than a contractor's quotation, and where development is involved a BS 5837:2012 tree survey is what the tree officer expects to see.
What to do when no record appears
Absence of a record is not a clean bill of health. Five things can still protect the tree.
An order that exists but has not been digitised. An area order whose application to the individual tree is arguable. Conservation area protection. A planning condition on a permission granted years ago, which is enforceable as a condition rather than as a tree order. And a restrictive covenant or a section 106 obligation, neither of which appears in any planning constraints layer.
So the safe sequence is: search the national data, search the council layer, read any order schedule in full, then ask the tree officer in writing and wait for the reply. On a site where a mature tree stands close to a proposed extension, that sequence takes a fortnight and removes a risk that would otherwise sit with you for years.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports your site is likely to need, including where a tree survey is one of them. 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 national map of Tree Preservation Orders?
Not a complete one. The national planning data platform at planning.data.gov.uk publishes tree preservation order, zone and individual tree records contributed by individual local planning authorities, so coverage depends on whether your council has published in that specification. A blank result means only that the authority has not contributed data, so check the council's own register as well.
How do I find out if a tree in my garden is protected?
Search the council's TPO map layer, download any order that touches the site and read its schedule as well as the plan, then check whether the property is in a conservation area. Finish by emailing the tree officer with the address, a marked plan, a photograph and the stem diameter at 1.5 metres, and keep the written reply.
What is an area Tree Preservation Order?
An order that protects the trees standing within a defined area at the date the order was made, rather than all trees there now. Later self-seeded or planted trees are not protected by it. That makes area orders difficult to apply, because you have to establish whether a given tree existed at the date of the order, using historic aerial photography or an age estimate.
Do I need permission for works to a tree in a conservation area?
You must give the local planning authority six weeks' written notice before working on a tree in a conservation area with a stem diameter over 75 mm measured 1.5 metres above ground level, or over 100 mm where thinning to help other trees grow. Within that period the authority can make a Tree Preservation Order, which frequently happens.
What if the council has no record of any protection?
Do not treat that as conclusive. An order may exist without being digitised, an area order may catch the tree, conservation area protection may apply, and a planning condition or a section 106 obligation on an old permission can require retention without appearing in any constraints layer. Ask the tree officer in writing and wait for the reply.
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.