Reading a Tree Preservation Order schedule and map
Finding out that an order covers your garden is easy. Working out which trees it protects depends on whether they are listed individually, in a group, in an area or as woodland.
A tree preservation order check has two parts, and people usually do only one. Finding out that an order covers your garden is easy. Working out which trees it actually protects means reading the schedule against the map, and the answer depends on whether your tree is listed as an individual, part of a group, inside an area classification or inside a woodland. Those four labels do different things, and an area classification in particular protects far less than most people assume.
Where to find the order and its map
Every local planning authority keeps a register of the tree preservation orders it has made, and it is a public document. Ask for a copy of the order itself, which means both the schedule and the map, not a screenshot of a dot on the council's online mapping.
Online constraint maps are a starting point and nothing more. They are drawn at a scale that cannot distinguish one tree from its neighbour, they are sometimes years out of date, and they rarely show the classification. A search of the planning register and a request to the tree officer costs nothing and gives you the document that matters, in the same way that a contaminated land register search gives you the record rather than an indication.
Ask for the date the order was made and confirmed. That date decides what an area classification covers, and it tells you which version of the regulations applies to the form of the order.
Conveyancing searches pick up orders, so if you are buying, the answer should already be in the pack. If you are the owner, the council will tell you.
Individual, group, area and woodland classifications
The schedule lists trees under reference letters, and the letter is the important part.
| Reference | Covers | Trees planted after the order date |
|---|---|---|
| T1, T2 and so on | A single specified tree | Not covered |
| G1, G2 and so on | A defined group of trees, specified at the date of the order | Not covered |
| A1, A2 and so on | All trees within an area, as they stood at the date of the order | Not covered |
| W1, W2 and so on | A woodland as a whole | Covered |
The woodland classification is the only one that protects trees growing up after the order was made, because it protects the woodland as a unit rather than a fixed list of stems. That is why woodland classifications are used for genuine woodland and why authorities are advised to avoid area classifications for new orders.
Check the species column too. An individual entry naming an oak does not protect the sycamore beside it, even where the position on the map is ambiguous.
What an area classification covers and its date limitation
Area classifications were used heavily in the 1970s and 1980s as a quick way to protect a whole garden or estate, and many are still in force.
The limitation is the date. An A classification protects the trees that were within the area at the moment the order was made. A tree that self-seeded or was planted afterwards is not protected by it, however large it has since grown.
That has two consequences. On an old order, the protected population shrinks over time as trees die or are lawfully removed, and nothing replaces them within the classification. And proving whether a particular tree was present on the order date becomes an exercise in historic aerial photography and growth rate estimation.
Do not treat that as a loophole to be exploited casually. Where there is doubt, the council will assume the tree is protected, and the burden of showing otherwise falls on you after the saw has been used. Take advice from an arboriculturist and put the evidence to the tree officer in writing first.
Identifying which tree is which on the ground
Orders from the 1970s were often drawn on a small-scale base map by someone standing in the road. Matching a symbol to a stem 40 years later is not always straightforward.
Work through it methodically:
- Obtain the order map at the largest scale available, and a current title plan or topographic survey.
- Overlay the two, matching fixed features such as buildings, boundaries and the road, rather than the trees themselves.
- Walk the site and record each tree with its species, approximate girth and position.
- Compare the recorded positions with the map symbols, and note any that do not match.
- Where the position is unclear, write to the tree officer setting out your reading and asking them to confirm it.
Getting that confirmation in writing before work starts is the single most useful thing an owner can do. Tree officers are generally willing to give it, because they would rather answer a letter than investigate an offence.
Where the tree affects a building project, an Arboricultural Impact Assessment prepared to the relevant British Standard gives you the survey data, the root protection areas and the constraints plan, and the same document answers the council's questions on the application.
Applying for consent to carry out works
Works to a protected tree need the authority's written consent, applied for on the standard form. There is no fee, and the authority has eight weeks to decide.
Describe the works in arboricultural terms rather than as an outcome. "Crown reduction of the lateral limbs over the garage by up to 2 metres, retaining natural shape" is an application an officer can grant. "Cut the tree back because it blocks the light" is a request they will refuse or reduce.
Give a reason supported by evidence. Structural damage to a building needs more than an assertion, and subsidence claims usually require monitoring data and a report. Blocking light, dropping leaves and honeydew, and obstructing a view are weak grounds on their own.
If consent is refused or granted with conditions you cannot live with, there is a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Compensation for loss caused by a refusal is available in limited circumstances under the regulations, subject to thresholds and a claim period.
Exemptions for dead, dying and dangerous trees
Some works can be done without consent, and the exemptions are narrower than folklore suggests.
A dead tree may be cut down, and deadwood may be removed from a living tree, but you must give the authority five working days' notice before doing so except in an emergency. A tree presenting an urgent risk of serious harm may be dealt with immediately, with notice given as soon as practicable afterwards.
The word "dying" no longer appears in the exemption, which changed with the 2012 regulations. A declining tree that is not dead is still protected.
Other exemptions cover works to abate a nuisance in the legal sense, works required by statute, certain works by statutory undertakers, compliance with a Forestry Commission felling licence, and works necessary to implement a full planning permission. Note that last one carefully: it applies to a full permission, not to an outline permission and not to permitted development.
Photograph the tree before any exempt work, and keep the photographs. If a dispute follows, the pictures are the evidence.
Penalties and replacement duties
Cutting down, uprooting or wilfully destroying a protected tree without consent is a criminal offence, and the fine in the magistrates' court is unlimited. Lopping or topping in a way that does not destroy the tree is a lesser offence but still an offence.
A duty to replace also applies. Where a protected tree is removed in contravention of the order, or is removed under the dead or dangerous exemption, the landowner must plant a replacement of appropriate size and species at the same place as soon as reasonably possible. The replacement is then protected by the original order automatically.
Councils do enforce, prompted by neighbours more often than by patrols. Contractors are prosecuted alongside owners, so a tree surgeon asking to see the consent before starting is protecting both of you.
Where a scheme is being designed around retained trees, set the protection and the replacement planting out in a Landscape Strategy so that the arboricultural and landscape documents say the same thing.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports your project is likely to need, then send the drafts for professional review.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. Tree survey and arboricultural work should be carried out by a suitably qualified arboriculturist. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Does an area classification protect trees planted later?
No. An A reference protects the trees that stood within the area at the date the order was made. Anything that self-seeded or was planted afterwards is outside it, however large it has grown. Only a woodland classification protects trees that grow up after the order date, because it protects the woodland as a unit.
Where do I get a copy of the order?
From the local planning authority's register of tree preservation orders, which is public. Ask for the order itself, meaning the schedule and the map together, plus the date it was made and confirmed. Online constraint maps are drawn too coarsely to identify individual trees and often do not show the classification.
Can I remove a dead or dangerous tree without consent?
A dead tree may be removed, and deadwood taken from a living tree, on five working days' notice to the authority except in an emergency. A tree presenting an urgent risk of serious harm may be dealt with immediately with notice as soon as practicable afterwards. Since 2012 a dying tree that is not dead remains protected.
How do I apply for consent to prune a protected tree?
On the standard application form, free of charge, with eight weeks for the authority to decide. Describe the works in arboricultural terms, such as a crown reduction of a stated extent, rather than as an outcome like letting in more light, and support the reason with evidence. There is a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
Do I have to replant if a protected tree is removed?
Yes in most cases. Where a protected tree is removed in contravention of the order, or under the dead or dangerous exemption, the landowner must plant a replacement of appropriate size and species in the same place as soon as reasonably possible. The replacement is automatically protected by the original order.
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.